Path of the Chosen 4: Of Two Worlds
by Ferngirl
Summary: Cara didn't expect to end up at the Ranger Union of Fiore, but when it comes to ending up somewhere unexpected, nothing compares to getting lost through a dimensional doorway and landing on a world inhabited only by Pokémon.
1. The Party in the Storm

The Party in the Storm

"Eh, a party?"

"Yep," I said, leaning on the Back of Ben's chair and sighing.

"Hmm," Ben said, crossing his arms behind his head. "We haven't heard about one of his parties in a long time, huh?

"Apparently he was busy on some big business thing, so he hasn't had time for one of his fancy parties recently."

"Fancy is right," Ben snorted. Jeb, the host, of the party was some strange millionaire or billionaire or something. I don't even know. Business and finance stuff is all too confusing for me. Ben, at least, understands it a little more than me. But it was all thanks to Jeb that I was allowed to keep my Pokémon here on Avalon. I'd gained this right by winning a bizarre contest hosted by the rich Pokémon-lover.

"So, the party's on a boat this time," I explained. "It departs from Canalave next week. He says you and Hari are invited too. He'd like some of us to do some Pokémon battles as entertainment."

"I'll leave that to you," Ben said. "And he's inviting Hari?"

I laughed. "Yeah. Jed's been lucky enough not to see what Hari does in 'hyperactive mode.'"

"Heaven forbid. Are you actually gonna bring him on the boat?"

"Still debating on that," I mumbled.

"I wouldn't mind if you could get him to behave."

"A miracle in itself."

The two of us started laughing.

I rubbed my eyes, still grinning. "What scares me is that he must be about ten now, right? He's the same age we were when we started our Pokémon journey."

"Jeez, he's ten?" Ben asked in mock horror. "He acts more like he's seven. Or less."

"I don't think he even acts like a human."

We started laughing again. It took longer for us to stop this time.

It was amazing to believe that we first set out on the usual Pokémon League quest six years ago. It felt like so much longer, what with all that had gone on. And yet had it only been six years?

My name's Cara. I'm sixteen with bushy dark blonde hair and blue eyes. I'm a Pokémon trainer, but I also have some weak psychic powers. Pretty much all they let me do is speak telepathically with Pokémon.

Ben is the same age as me. We grew up with each other and have always been best friends (despite occasional fights, arguments, ex). He's significantly taller than me with brown hair and green eyes. He does have some Pokémon of his own, but his main passion is working with computers and electronics. Recently he's been doing a lot of programming stuff. It's all beyond me, looking at the rows and rows of numbers and letters that apparently mean something.

The kid we were talking about, Hari, is a hyperactive boy that's probably about ten years old. I say probably because, uh, I kinda found him. Long story. But with help from my parents, I've been taking care of Hari. If you count letting him run wild around Avalon, in which case he kinda takes care of himself. But he comes traveling with us also. He still hasn't let me give him a good haircut, so his hair remains a rather long mass of dark brown (even worse than my own bushy hair, which is saying a lot).

Actually, Jed's parties kinda scare me. There's always lots of freaking rich people at them, or important people, and people dressed in fancy or "fashionable" outfits. I never know what to talk about with them. Jed was the only one I felt like I could talk to. And I owe Jed big time for letting me use Avalon, and I suppose by now I count him as a friend also.

I went out to look for Hari and found him snoozing up in a tree. I told him about the party.

"Boats are fun," Hari said. "But those kinda parties aren't much fun," Hari said. I could understand where he was coming from. Hari had to behave himself at parties, and he usually didn't have much fun unless he was running around climbing things.

"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to come," I said, "but this is one of Jed's parties so you'd have to dress up."

Hari's eyes got very wide. He only ever wore shirts that belonged to me and Ben, so were several sizes too large for him.

"You can go without me," he said rather quickly.

Which I guess was probably for the best.

And thus I found myself in my room dressing one evening as I prepared to head to Canalave.

I scowled at my reflection in the mirror. I never felt quite right in a dress. "I look like a boy," I mumbled darkly as I straightened my dress. I liked the dress itself. Mom gave it to me for my birthday last month. It was white with a flame pattern around the collar, sleeves, and the bottom hem. It was supposed to be a bit like a Ponyta, because Ponyta was my very first Pokémon. And Polaris is still one of the Pokémon I usually keep on my team.

I hooked on a necklace and earrings. I left my hair down. As long as I didn't touch it or shake my head of anything, it would remain fairly tame. My dislike of dresses probably went beyond me feeling like I looked like a boy, with my broad shoulders and ribs. I tended to get into trouble on occasions, and dresses usually just got in the way. On a rare occasion, I'd wear a dress or skirt around Avalon where things were more or less disaster-free.

And this brought out another question. Where do I put my Pokéball belt? I tried it on in the mirror. I'm not much of a person for understanding fashion, so I couldn't quite decide if it looked good or not. I finally decided that it might not look so weird if I was wearing a different sort of dress.

I grumbled in annoyance and dropped my belt into my bag. It was a nicer bag than the backpack I usually used, though less convenient to carry.

I left my room feeling rather self-conscious, and walked to the living room to meet Ben. I think subconsciously I was expecting a suit and tie, because I saw with relief that Ben was wearing a neat gray-blue shirt and black pants. He looked rather smarter in his outfit than I felt.

"Ready?" I asked.

Ben adjusted the collar of his shirt so it wasn't strangling him. "I suppose. Do you have transport ready?"

"Yep." I started to reach to my belt for a Pokéball, but I stopped myself in time and reached into my bag instead. I grumbled in annoyance.

"Strung a bit tight, are we?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow at my dark scowl.

"Jed's an awesome person, but his parties kind of exhaust me," I muttered. "This time it's hitting me before we even get there."

"Ah, I see. Sure you don't want to sit down for a minute and hug something furry? That usually makes you feel better."

That made me laugh, which made me feel better right away. But he was definitely right. Hugging something furry usually made everything better.

I let my Alakazam (named Kinesis) out of his Pokéball.

"Would you take us to Canalave?" I asked. Kinesis nodded and used Teleport. Teleport is one of my favorite Pokémon moves, along with Fly. So convenient for someone who travels all over the place.

In less than five seconds, we arrived next to the Canalave Pokémon Center.

I returned Kinesis and Ben and I headed to the docks.

"I'd really like to give Jed a Pokémon," I sighed. "He loves them so much, but he doesn't have one of his own. He says it's because he's always so busy and wouldn't be able to take care of it properly unless he hired someone to do it. And then it wouldn't exactly be _his_ Pokémon anymore, ya know?"

Ben shrugged. "I think it'd be worth it for him to have one anyway."

"Yeah, me too." I lapsed into thought until we arrived at the dock.

"Where is the ship?" Ben asked.

I unfolded my invitation and read, "Pier 12."

We walked along the dock, reading the plaques that identified the piers. When we arrived at Pier 12, Ben and I froze and our jaws dropped. When Jed said that the party was on a ship I expected some high-tech yacht or something. What we were facing instead was a real old-fashioned ship, complete with rigging, masts, and sails.

We exchanged surprised glances.

"That's actually… really cool," I said, astonished.

"It is pretty neat," Ben agreed. Though he probably would have preferred a yacht so he could snoop around the radar and steering systems and such.

As we walked towards the ship, I saw _The Lady of the Sea_ painted in ornate lettering along the side of the ship, and a stylized Lugia was carved into the prow.

The two of us walked up the ramp and onto the ship. Several lights were hanging around the deck and a few people were scattered about. But most of the people seemed to be below deck. The sun was starting to sink and the wind that flowed across the ocean brought a chill with it. So it was only natural that most of the people would be inside where it was warm. But the cold was the nice kind. It didn't feel uncomfortable, to me at least.

"Jed's probably inside," Ben said, glancing around the deck.

"Yeah," I agreed. We walked across the deck, which was swaying under our feet to the rhythm of the ocean. The moment we stepped inside, we felt warmer. Almost too warm because of all the body heat of the dozens of people.

Jed was standing beside the door, greeting the guests as they arrived. I don't suppose people would call Jed handsome. He was average height (shorter than Ben) with short, neat light brown hair and brown eyes. But he looked happy. He enjoyed being around people. I didn't feel quite so comfortable surrounded by a mass of people. But I guess Jed had to deal with it a lot in his work and was beyond used to it.

He grinned the moment he saw me. "Cara, good to see you! And Ben! Long time no see. How are things going?"

"Pretty good," I replied, shaking his hand.

"Keeping busy," Ben agreed, grinning and also shaking Jed's hand.

"Make yourselves at home," Jed said. "I'll be rather busy tonight, but I'll be sure to talk to you some once we set sail." The next guest arrived and Jed turned to greet him.

"How can he handle dealing with so many people?" I asked, bewildered. "It would drive me crazy. He's not gonna have a minute to himself tonight. Or ever. So, yeah. Let's go get some food."

If one thing can be said about Jed's parties, they have excellent food. Like the mushrooms stuffed with cheese and spices, and the artichoke dip and… I could go on and on.

After a couple minutes, there was a shout that the ship as about to cast off. Ben and I went up on deck to watch Canalave City slide away. We went back to eat dinner, and some of Jed's other guests talked with us a bit. Then there was a shout for Pokémon trainers to go up on deck to take part in battles. Ben and I joined the sizeable crowd that ventured into the cold to watch.

Ben and I watched a couple battles before I went down to take part in one myself. I almost chose my Infernape before I stopped. We were on a wooden ship. A fire Pokémon would be bad. And with all the salt water around, my Luxio wouldn't be a much safer choice. Instead I sent out Dewey, my Roserade.

My opponent sent out Lopunny.

Dewey used Poison Sting, but Lopunny bounced out of the way and sprang in to kick at Dewey. My Roserade skidded across the deck and scrambled to her feet. Lopunny sprang in again and used Dizzy Punch. Dewey ducked and used Poion Jab at her opponent's stomach. Lopunny retreated and stayed at a safe distance, dodging Dewey's attacks until Dewey used the fail-safe Magical Leaf. Lopunny shook it off and jumped to the side to avoid Poison Sting. And she landed right in Dewey's trap. The vines that made up Grass Knot closed around Lopunny's feet, and Dewey twitched the ends of the vines, hooking them up in the rigging. Immediately, the snare lifted Lopunny off the ground, where she dangled upside-down, helpless.

The crowd laughed, and my opponent returned her Lopunny.

The battles ended when the sun set and everyone went inside again. Jed finally made it over to talk to us. I told him about how Avalon, was doing, and about my recent Pokémon experiences. Ben told him about the programming jobs he was working on. That was when I noticed something odd.

Jed noticed my lapse into silence. "What is it?" He asked.

"The ship," I said slowly. "It feels like it's lurching more. I wonder if the winds got stronger."

As if on cue, one of the sailors hurried through the room, making towards Jed. He seemed nervous. He whispered something to Jed, who looked alarmed.

"Excuse me," he said, following the sailor up onto the deck. Ben and I exchanged glances before following him.

We reached the captain of the ship, who was at the tiller, looking anxiously out at a gray sea that was growing steadily rougher and wilder.

"Storms never come in this fast," the captain explained to Jed. "There were no clouds at all just a couple minutes ago!"

I looked up and saw that the clouds were billowing up as we spoke. And then fat cold raindrops began to fall. This wasn't a normal event. There had to be some reason for it…

I quickly sent Kinesis out.

"Kinesis," I said, "can you figure out where this storm came from?"

My Alakazam shut his eyes and a faint glow emanated from his body. The captain turned to look at me.

"Who is this girl?" he asked. "Why is she here?"

Jed wasn't listening to him. He was watching Kinesis also. Kinesis opened his eye and looked at me.

_It's Kyogre, _he said. _Kyogre is fighting some Pokémon beneath us and is causing the storm. _

"Will it pass soon?" But even as I asked, the wind whipped my hair around, turning it into a tumbleweed, and the cold rain pelted down on us. A large wave crashed against the boat and several of the guests screamed from below deck.

_I don't know, _Kinesis admitted.

I quickly explained what Kinesis said. I added, "Since Kyogre can create storms, I guess it automatically does so when it begins to battle, as a sort of reflex or defense."

"Kyogre," the captain scoffed. "How could a Pokémon create a storm like this?"

I narrowed my eyes. I had seen a much worse storm conjured by a Pokémon. But before I could say anything, Jed spoke up, shouting over the wind and the waves.

"Cara knows her Pokémon. You'd do well to listen to her."

I looked at Jed, surprised.

"Pokémon or not," the captain replied in a shout that was barely audible, "We have to get the sails up! They could be torn to pieces!"

Already several of the sailors had climbed up into the rigging and were trying to haul in the sails.

The boat lurched dangerously, throwing Ben, Kinesis, Jed and I in a heap on the soaked deck. The captain managed to hang onto the tiller to steady himself.

Kinesis used Psychic to keep us from getting flung around, He directed part of his powers to help tie some of the sails up.

A spout of water shot over the deck and fell across me, drenching me further. Spluttering, I heard a strange rumbling sound from the ocean beside the ship. I grabbed the railing to steady myself and peered over it into the ocean. For a moment I thought I was looking at Kyogre, but then I realized that it was a Wailord.

_You're not fighting Kyogre, are you? _I asked telepathically.

Wailord's eye swiveled up to look at me. _Are you kidding? I'm running away form the battle! Apparently Lugia thought Kyogre was trying to invade his territory. I'm sure things will blow over pretty quick. Do you need help though? _

_Yes! Please, help steady the ship! _

Wailord nodded and braced his huge body against the ship. But even so, the next wave made the boat pitch, and I went sprawling onto my face. I heard a shout and looked up to see one of the sailors lose his grip and fall off one of the masts. He managed to grab onto a rope, but it didn't look like he could hold on for long.

I quickly sent out my Charizard (named Charren). She snorted in discomfort as the rain hissed against her flaming tail. But the moment I was on her back, she took to the air and soared upwards to grab the sailor and set him on the mast again.

"Hey!" One of the men bellowed, "Is there a way you could hand us that rope!" He pointed to a loose piece of rope that was hanging out of reach. Charren grabbed it and carefully handed it to the sailor, trying not to get her wings tangles in the rigging.

"Do you need more help?" I called.

The man pointed to a sail where only one man was struggling to haul it in.

Charren flew up and I jumped off her back landing rather unsteadily on the beam across the top of the sail. The man helped steady me and I helped him haul up the sail and tie it in place. I signaled to Charren, who flew up and let me jump onto her back again. We flew towards the next mast, but suddenly a gust of wind blasted under Charren's wings, sending her into the rigging. The ropes fell across her wings and held fast. As she jerked to a halt, I felt my fingers slip off from around her neck.

My fingers scrabbled desperately against her back, but I slid down until there was nothing beneath me. For one moment, I thought I would get tangled in the ropes. But I didn't. I reached out, trying to grab onto something, but it was too late. I wondered if I'd hit the deck. Maybe Kinesis would catch me. But the combination of momentum from Charren's flight and the lurch of the boat meant that there was nothing but water beneath me.

I shut my eyes tight as I fell, helpless, dropping through the rushing wind. And then I hit the frigid water. The impact knocked the breath out of me, and I sank until I managed to reorient myself and kick to the surface. I opened my mouth to take a breath, and immediately a wave came crashing down on me. I went spinning down into the pitch-black waters, with my lungs crying for air. The salt water stung my eyes as I kicked to the surface and gasped for breath. I tried desperately to keep my head above the waves, but the surges were so huge that I suddenly found myself gliding upwards on the back of a wave.

By some miracle, my bag was still with me. I had it gripped tightly in one hand, wince the strap had slipped off of my shoulder. What Pokémon could I use? Swampert? Lapras? Gyarados? Blastoise? But I realized with a horrible lurch that I didn't have any of my water Pokémon with me. Alakazam was on deck. Ponyta, Roserade, Luxio, and Infernape would be completely useless in the water. And Charren… was she still tangled up in the rigging? And the ship was being pushed further into the distance.

I had reached the top of the wave. Any second now, I'd go rushing down the front of it. Then what? I'd get pounded beneath the surface again. How long could I remain afloat in these water?

My heart leapt as I saw something orange flying towards me. Charren had managed to untangle herself and she'd come after me.

"Charren!" I shouted. But my voice was lost to the storm. Luckily she saw me as I slipped over the edge of the wave into the deep ravine or swirling water and sea foam. Charren tucked her wings and dove downwards. Her claws closer around my upper arms and she struggled to lift me up out of the water. Then I noticed with a horrible jolt that the wave was arcing up over us, ready to shove us back down into the storm-tossed sea. But Charren… her tail flame would go out if that wave hit her! And she wasn't high enough yet to get out of the way!

I shoved my hand into my bag and grabbed Charren's Pokéball. As the wave plunged down on top of us, I aimed the Pokéball at her and called her back. She let out a roar of protest, which was cut off as she vanished into the safety of the Pokéball. And the wave crashed down on me. I choked and kicked wildly. But I couldn't seem to reach the surface. A wave had risen over me, drawing air further out of my reach. I might still be able to make it… this time.

Then my feet hit something solid and I felt myself pushed up towards the surface. I gasped and inhaled deeply. Wailord was beneath me.

_Thank you, _I said, relieved. Although the waves still sloshed at me, Wailord was large enough to keep me above the worst of it.

But I couldn't see the ship anywhere.


	2. Breaking Peace

Dragging myself away from Skyward Sword to finish this chapter. Man, only the second chapter and I'm already falling behind my usual schedule. I blame school and my large collection of projects.

So, here we are, chapter two. Once again, welcome back to everyone who read Cara's other stories. I'm so happy you're coming back for more! For all you newcomers, it would be awesome if you read my other 3 Cara fanfics. But it's fine if you don't want to. I'll try to keep everything straight so you don't have to go back and read the others.

I hope you all enjoy! As always, I love reading your comments!

Polaris-Ponyta, Charren-Charizard, Dewey-Roserade, Charro-Infernape, Inx-Luxio, Otta-Buizel, Kinesis-Alakazam.

* * *

><p>Breaking Peace<p>

I shivered and opened my eyes. I must have passed out at some point over the night, out of fatigue or exhaustion, maybe. The only reason I was still safely on Wailord's back was because of the little Buizel huddled against my side. I vaguely remembered her showing up some time before I passed out. She helped keep me in place as the waves bashed against me. But the storm had passed long ago. The ocean around us was rather calm, and the sun was beginning to rise.

"Where are we?" I asked hoarsely. It felt like I swallowed half of the ocean, and perhaps a couple fish with it.

Buizel pointed and I looked ahead, shading my eyes against the low sun. Wailord was making towards land. I breathed a sigh of relief. I could get my bearings there and hopefully find a phone.

I shivered. All I had on was my wet dress. Somehow it was still intact, and I'd also managed to keep a hold on my bag. Buizel climbed onto my lap to keep me warm.

"Thanks," I said, hugging her close.

_How are you back there? _Wailord asked.

"Still alive," I muttered.

_We should reach land pretty soon. _

"That's good. Thank you so much. Both of you."

Wailord chuckled, and I could feel his body vibrating beneath me. _No problem. _

_Yeah, we're happy to help! _Buizel chimed in.

I shivered again and hugged Buizel tighter. "Do you have a name?" I asked her.

_Otta, _she replied.

We rode on in silence for a while. I wasn't feeling very good, what with being almost drowned last night, on several occasions. I took the opportunity to telepathically contact Kinesis. He said that he and Ben were safe. The ship had made it out of the storm and back to port. I asked Kinesis to tell Ben that I was alive. Though Ben couldn't talk to Pokémon, Kinesis would find a way to get the message across. I'd call him once I found a phone. I didn't have my own phone with me, or most of the other travel supplies I often brought along. I hadn't expected to need them. Shows what I know. At least I had my Pokéballs.

As we drew near the island, I saw a boat bobbing along the small waves. Wailord made for it and as we drew near, I saw someone on board.

"Heey!" I shouted. He man looked around, startled, and saw me standing on Wailord's back, wearing a wet dress and holding a Buizel. "Can I get a ride to shore?" I asked.

The man gaped at me as Wailord drew alongside the boat. "Uh, sure, I don't see why not. But you'll have to wait a couple minutes. I'm waiting for a couple people to come up."

"Come up?" I asked, dragging myself rather stiffly onto the boat. Otta jumped in after me. A Plusle and Minun hopped over to see me as I sat down and accepted the blanket offered by the captain. I patted their heads as Otta curled up inside my blanket.

"Yeah," the captain replied. "There's a couple rangers down there checking things out. There was a gang of Sharpedo making trouble out here, so they're calming things down."

Pokémon Rangers, huh? Interesting. I didn't see them around often.

"I guess they have their breathing apparatus things, huh?" What I wouldn't give to have had mine with me last night. Again, that wasn't something I'd thought to bring to a party. "This may sound strange, but where am I?"

The man eyed me with growing curiosity. "Off the coast of Fiore. I'd like to ask what your story is, but I think that can wait until the rangers come up."

As if on cue, a stream of bubbles rippled the water beside the boat and a head broke the surface. A moment later, a second head appeared.

"What's with the Wailord?" A boy's voice asked. The massive Pokémon would be hard to miss from under water.

"You'll have to ask the young lady here," the man said.

"Huh?"

The two people pulled themselves up the ladder and into the boat. There was a girl with blue hair and a boy with black hair, both in ranger uniforms. They were maybe around my age. The Plusle and Minun bounded over to them, the Minun landing on the boy's shoulder and the Plusle going to the girl.

"Hi," I said, aware of how weird I looked. "Uh, I'm Cara."

"I'm Lunick," The boy said.

"And I'm Solana," the girl added.

"Now," The captain said, "How is it you came to be out here on the back of a Wailord, looking like you came from a party?"

As I began to explain my situation, the captain turned the boat towards shore and started the motor. I paused to bid Wailord farewell and thank him one last time.

"So," I concluded with a sigh as we drew alongside the dock, "it would be great if I could use your phone and a shower. And maybe get a change of clothes."

They stared at me as the captain shut off the motor to his boat.

"You seem awfully calm for your situation," Lunick commented.

I gave a dry chuckle and followed the two young rangers onto dry land. "I've been through a lot of weird stuff."

Otta hopped off beside me. I looked down at her. "Are you going to come with us?"

Otta glanced between me and the rangers, and then she nodded.

"We'll take you to the Ranger Union," Solana said.

"By the way," Lunick asked with unsuppressed curiosity, "are you really a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"We don't get trainers around here," Solana explained.

"I don't see Rangers too much either," I admitted. "I've never met one, at least. But it sounds like a cool job. You'll have to show me how your stylers work."

"Yeah, if you show us what a Pokémon battle looks like," Lunick said, grinning.

"Sounds fair."

As we left the dock, we found ourselves on a city street.

"This is Fall City," Solana explained. "Joel is the head Ranger here."

"There's a concert in a little while, so it's probably gonna be pretty crowded soon," Lunick said. "You should come listen to them after you dry off."

We reached the Ranger Union. I felt much better after a shower, some food, and a drink of water. A clean set of clothes had been laid out for me. As I lifted the shirt, I realized that it was actually a Ranger uniform. I guess they didn't have any other clothes lying around. At least the shorts they gave me were a little more… substantial than the ones Solana wore.

When my dress was dry, I folded it and put it in my bag. I clipped my Pokéball belt around my waist and went to call Ben.

When his face appeared on the screen, he looked immensely relieved. "You made it," he gasped. "I knew you weren't dead because of Kinesis, but we didn't know where you were. Jed almost died from fright."

"Sorry about that," I sighed. "It's not like I want these things to happen. I'll have tell him what happened."

"Where are you?" Ben asked.

"Fiore," I replied.

"Fiore? How did you get all the way across there?"

"A Wailord helped me." Otta popped her head into the screen and I added, "And Buizel here helped too."

"Do you need Kinesis to pick you up and bring you home?"

I thought for a minute. "Not right away. I promised to go to a concert."

"A _concert!"_ Ben exclaimed. "She gets swept away into a storm and she's off to a concert! You don't even _go_ to concerts."

"Heh," I muttered. "That's true. But I might as well look around Fiore while I'm here."

Ben sank his head and groaned. "You… Fine. Whatever. As long as you're alive, you do what you want." And he abruptly hung up.

My shoulders drooped. "I think I made him mad at me," I muttered to Otta.

_Why? _Otta asked.

_Probably because he was worried about me, and I'm off planning for a concert. Although a concert's not exactly my first choice. Maybe he'll stop being mad when I get a chance to explain. _

Still, I was rather subdued as I met Lunick and Solana at the front of the Ranger Union.

"Ready?" Lunick asked excitedly.

"Sure," I agreed. I followed the two of them out to Fall City and we headed for the plaza. Otta trotted at my heels.

"What's the band?" I asked.

"The Go-Rock Quads," Lunick exclaimed.

"Actually," Solana said, "we had to fight them a while back. They were trying to make a Ranger styler that would completely control Pokémon. Now they're just a normal band. They offered us some good seats. We can probably get a place for you too."

"It won't be really loud, will it?" I asked. I never liked loud speakers blaring in my face. Which is why I'd only really been to one concert. I try to keep my distance from speakers in general. I'm also very picky about the music I like, although I do tend to love music.

"Shouldn't be too bad," Lunick said. "We won't be by the loudspeakers, at least.

"Okay. That's good."

We arrived at the plaza by the big clock tower. Behind the clock tower, the edge of the city was defined by a row of bushes. Speakers and microphones were set up in front of the clock tower, and rows of chairs were set up. Several people were seated already. On the stage, four musicians were warming up their instruments. Two of them held guitars, one had a violin, and one was tapping at a drum.

Lunick called out and raised his hand. The four musicians looked up and smiled.

"How you guys doin?" the drummer asked.

"Pretty good," Solana replied.

"Ya ready for the concert?" Lunick inquired.

"Yep, it's goin pretty good," said the violinist, the only girl in the band.

I hung back, not sure what to do. They chatted for a bit, and then Solana pulled me up.

"This is Cara," she said. "She's a Pokémon trainer from Kanto. This is Tiffany," she said, indicating the violonist, "Clyde," pointing to the drummer, "Garrett, and Billy," to the two guitarists. Billy seemed the eldest. "They're actually all siblings."

"Nice to meet you," I said, somewhat awkwardly.

"I've never met a trainer," Billy said. "You really battle with Pokémon, huh?"

"Oh, yeah."

"You should do a demonstration after the concert. That would be pretty cool."

"You think so?" I asked, startled.

"That'd be neat," Garrett agreed.

Something tugged at my shoe and I looked down to see Otta. She looked worried about something.

_What's wrong? _I asked as Lunick and Solana picked up the conversation.

_Something scary, _Otta whispered.

_What? _I asked, glancing around.

_The… Pokémon…_Otta broke off and crouched behind my ankles, trembling.

I glanced sharply up at the bushes behind the tower. Otta was right. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" Solana asked, noticing the look on my face.

"There's-" I started, but I trailed off. I took a few more steps past the tower. "Something's there."

I took one more step, and suddenly something exploded out of the bushes. It collided with my shoulder, knocking me off my feet. I automatically tucked my head in and rolled along my spine to avoid a painful fall. Several more shapes shot past me as I scrambled to regain my feet. When I turned around, I saw three Combusken and a Gliscor tearing around the plaza. The Gliscor struck at a metal railing and sliced it cleanly in two.

"They'll ruin the equipment!" Billy shouted, moving to push one of the speakers out of harms way.

Fortunately not much of a crowd had gathered yet, but the people screamed as Combusken charged through the rows of chairs, knocking them over.

Lunick, Solana and I all reacted at once, though in different ways. The two Rangers pulled out their stylers. I grabbed Inx, my Luxio's Pokéball and sent him out. He appeared and quickly charged one of the Combusken.

I glanced over to watch in fascination as Lunick and Solana expertly maneuvered their stylers. The glowing disks whirled around three of the Combusken, and after several loops, the Combusken stopped attacking and stood docile.

I turned my attention back to Inx and directed him to several well-placed attacks that sent the Combusken toppling to the ground where he lay, stunned.

Then Gliscor swooped down and struck Inx, knocking him several feet backwards. Inx jumped to his feet and growled. Immediately he began to glow and his body expanded.

"Yes," I whispered triumphantly. The evolution completed, Inx the Luxray threw back his head and snarled, sparks crackling around his mane. I grinned at his impressive display. As Gliscor swooped in again, Inx let out a blast of electricity that zapped the Gliscor out of the air.

"Good job!" I called.

Inx's head snapped over to look at me and my voice trailed off. There was a strange, feral look in his narrowed eyes. He bared his teeth in a low, dangerous growl.

I swore under my breath as I realized what was happening. Sometimes when Pokémon evolved, they became unruly. I never had a problem with my Gyarados or Charizard. But it looked like my luck had run out. Fine time for that to happen.

Otta picked that moment to step out into the open to look at the fallen Gliscor.

"No, stop!" I shouted to her. Too late. Inx let out a powerful blast of electricity, aiming for the unprepared Buizel. I acted on instinct, throwing out a Pokéball, which burst open in the line of fire. Polaris, my Ponyta, appeared and sent out a burst of flame which dispersed most of the oncoming electricity. The crowd screamed again as static crackled around the plaza. One of the speakers was hit and began to let out a loud staticy sound.

Otta, escaping damage, fled to hide under one of the chairs.

I thought quickly. This wasn't a problem that I could let sit. I had to deal with it now.

"Polaris, cover me!"

Polaris sent out several bursts of flame, which Inx had to dodge. I sprang forwards, dodging the fire also.

With a well-placed Flamethrower, Polaris herded Inx to land right in front of me. I jumped forwards and grabbed the mane on either side of Inx's face. Startled, Luxray opened his mouth to snarl, but I shook his head fiercely. He was knocked off balance by the jerking motions.

"You stop that!" I shouted fiercely. "You can't go around attacking whatever you please!"

Inx blinked at me startled.

"I'm going to let go. If you try anything funny, you'll regret it. Got it?" Inx nodded meekly and I disentangled my fingers from his mane. Inx stood there, his head and tail drooping.

I rarely ever got mad at my Pokémon, but this was something I wouldn't tolerate.

I looked up to find a few dozen people staring at me with varying degrees of shock and fascination. Immediately my face grew red and hot. That wasn't really something I wanted a crowd to witness.

But then, "whoa, that was impressive," Tiffany said.

"I wondered what trainers did if their Pokémon acted wild after they evolved," Clyde said.

"What? Uh, I doubt that's a technique most trainers use," I mumbled.

"You should show us some more of your battling,," Tiffany continued. "Your Ponyta was pretty amazing. "

"I could write a song about battles," Clyde commented thoughtfully. "Especially if I could see more of them in action."

"I… guess," I said, feeling somewhat overwhelmed. I wasn't used to such reactions about such a simple battle.

"I don't get it," Solana muttered. "They attack out of nowhere."

That had been bothering me too. "Let me check something," I said. I walked over to one of the Combusken that Lunick and Solana had befriended.

"Well," Lunick said, shrugging, "it's been happening a lot recently."

"What?" I asked, startled, looking over at him.

"Yeah," he continued. "A couple days ago, Pokémon started acting weird and attacking people."

"It might have to do with the blasting that was going on a few days ago," Solana said.

"Yeah," Lunick agreed. "There were some people doing illegal blasting. They did a lot of damage before we managed to arrest them."

"It's strange that the Pokémon are still acting violent since I don't think anything's happened since the men were arrested," Solana said.

I was silent for a few minutes. "Um, would you mind keeping people away for a minute? I want to find out why the Pokémon are acting weird."

"How are you gonna figure that out?" Lunick asked.

"They're going to tell me," I replied.

"You can understand Pokémon?" Solana asked, surprised. Lunick and the Go Rock Quad stared in disbelief.

In response I knelt in front of the Combusken.

_Why are you doing this? _I asked. _Why have Pokémon started attacking people? _

Combusken eyed me for a moment.

_The peace is gone. _

_What? What do you mean, "the peace is gone?" _

_The peacekeeper has been hurt. Nothing remains to keep Pokémon and humans together. And we want revenge for all the humans have done. The blasting. The blasting caused a lot of damage. The blasting is what hurt Ho-Oh. _


	3. Battle of Flames

For some reason all of the italics are showing up with no spaces. I have no idea why that is. It's not that way on my original document, and it's not like that when I try to edit the page on fanfic. If it's a bug, I hope fanfic fixes it soon.

Now that classes are almost over, I might actually start getting my chapters up on time. -_-

Polaris-Ponyta, Charren-Charizard, Dewey-Roserade, Charro-Infernape, Inx-Luxray, Otta-Buizel

Battle of Flames

I suppressed a curse. Ho-Oh was supposed to be the peacekeeper between humans and Pokémon. If Ho-Oh's injury meant that Pokémon would start to attack people…

Lunick and Solana exchanged looks and nodded to each other.

"We'll have to go find Ho-Oh," Lunick announced.

"If we capture it and heal it, things should go back to normal," Solaa agreed. "And we can't let him sit injured wherever he is.

"I'm going with you," I said.

"What?" Lunick asked, startled.

"You'll need all the help you can get, searching for Ho-Oh in Fiore. I can talk to Pokémon, which will make it easier to find Ho-Oh. And if Pokémon are being violent, you might need a trainer to help."

"She has a point," Lunick agreed.

"Since you seem like an experienced trainer, I think that would be a good idea," Solana said.

"But," Lunick started, "can't we listen to the concert first?"

"Yeah, at least wait until after the concert," Tiffany exclaimed.

"A person that talks to Pokémon," Clyde muttered. "I could write a song about that."

…

After the concert, we got supplies at the Ranger Base. As we were waiting, I sent Otta out to ask the wild Pokémon if they knew where Ho-Oh might be. She came back right as we were finishing packing. But she seemed out of breath and her fur was all ruffled.

"What happened?" I asked startled.

She shook her head. _The__Pokémon__are__pretty__rough.__I__managed__to__get__help__from__one__of__them,__but__then__an__Ambipom__attacked__me__because__I__smelled__like__a__human.__I__managed__to__get__away__by__jumping__in__the__ocean._

"Shoot! I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd get in trouble!"

_That__'__s__okay,_Otta panted.

"What did you learn?" I asked.

_They__say__Ho-Oh__'__s__hiding__in__the__mountains,_ Otta replied.

"Okay. That's something to go on. I'll tell Lunick and Solana. Listen, Otta, do you want to come with us? To look for Ho-Oh?"

Otta brightened. _Yeah!__That__sounds__fun!_ It seemed she'd been waiting for me to ask.

Without my Alakazam, another team member would be helpful. I found that the Ranger Base did have a couple Pokéballs in the back that were left there by a trainer long ago. Empty Pokéballs are usually one of my main travel supplies, but as seems to be my curse for this trip, I didn't bring them to the stupid party. But once I had one, Otta jumped right inside.

Once I was ready, I met Lunick and Solana in the lobby. I told them about the mountains.

"Ho-Oh must be in the Sekra Range," Solana said. "Maybe even at the Fiore Temple where Rayquaza landed.

"We can use the Dragonite to fly over," Lunick suggested. "At least it's only the wild Pokémon that are acting funny, and not the ones that are bonded to humans."

"Pulaa," Plusle said.

"Miin!" Minun chimed.

"I have my Charizard, so I can fly too," I said.

"Excellent! Then let's get going!" Lunick exclaimed. He led the way upstairs to where Dragonite was snoozing on the roof. Lunick and Solana climbed onto Dragonite, and I let Charren out. The two Pokémon dove out into the air and spiraled up on the thermals. Dragonite led us to Wintown, at the foot of the Sekra Range. When we landed there, Lunick and Solana led us up away from the town. There the two of them pulled out their stylers and captured a pair of Doduo.

"The Doduo will give us a ride up the mountain," Solana explained. "But you have your Ponyta, right?"

"Yep," I agreed, sending Polaris out. I hopped onto her back and patted her neck. She gave a small whicker in reply.

As we headed up the mountain trail, Lunick and Solana showed me how the styler worked. To help with the demonstration, I let Charro, my Infernape out (Yeah, My Charizard is Charren, and my Infernape is Charro. Obviously my brain wasn't working with I named my Chimchar ^-^ ' ). Charro walked alongside us and watched, rather perplexed, as Lunick directed the strange glowing top-like device around him.

"Can I try?" I asked.

Solana handed me her styler and I waved the baton thing in a circle. It shot in a wild circle around me and almost smashed into a rock. I grimaced. "Sorry. I didn't realize it was so sensitive. How long do you have to practice with these?" I asked, moving the baton much slower as I tried to maneuver it in a circle around Charro. Polaris stumbled slightly on a rise in the earth and my hand jerked, sending the stylus crashing into Charro. He growled in annoyance.

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I don't have the hang of it yet. Hey, since Infernape is my Pokémon already, what happens if I capture him?"

"Probably nothing," Solana said.

We headed further up the mountains and I let Inx out also. Once I was sure he'd behave, I asked him and Charro to do some little sparring matches as we traveled. As they ran alongside us, dodging and feinting, I explained about the finer points of battling. I also played with the stylus, trying to loop it around Charro and Inx as they battled. It was a lot harder with moving targets.

Suddenly a flock of Chatot burst out of the bushes and rushed us, squawking angrily. Inx leapt up and let out a blast of electricity that sent the Chatot flapping away wildly.

"I doubt that will be the last time we're attacked by the Pokémon here," Lunick said. "We should capture some of the wild Pokémon in case we need them later."

The two rangers used their stylers to capture the wild Pokémon we ran into as we scaled the mountain. Before long, we had a fleet of Pokémon behind us, including Donphan, Golem, and Poliwrath.

"We can carry seven Pokémon with us at once," Solana said.

"Not including or partners," Lunick added, gesturing to Plusle and Minun.

Finally we reached a large stone wall with a pair of massive doors that were standing open. Polaris and the two Doduo walked through them, into the Fiore Temple. In front of us was something of a step pyramid with three large tiers. As we headed for the steps up the first tier, I caught a glimpse of a large, curved back on the top level. I inhaled sharply. I gestured to Lunick and Solana and they nodded.

We reached the steps and Lunick and Solana dismounted their Doduo. I followed suit, and then released the rest of my team from their Pokéballs.

We slowly crept around the second tier to the next set of stairs. The fleet of Pokémon followed quietly. Then Lunick, Solana and I crawled up the second level of stairs and peeked over the edge. The form of a huge orange bird came into view. One wing was tucked awkwardly against his side, as though it was injured. His sides heaved as he breathed heavily, his neck was stretched out, and his eyes were closed.

"Oh," Solana whispered.

"Wow," Lunick breathed.

We sat there for a minute, staring in awe at the legendary bird.

"Okay. Capture on," Lunick said at last, shifting to pull out his styler.

Ho-Oh's eyes snapped open and fixed directly on us. He narrowed his eyes dangerously.

I tentatively reached out telepathically. _Ho-Oh?__Are__you__hurt?__Can__we__help__you?_

The only reply I received was a low, threatening growl. I swallowed and gestured to Lunick and Solana to back away. We did so, very slowly, until Ho-Oh was out of sight.

"What happened?" Lunick asked.

"Ho-Oh's not going to talk with me. What if you tried capturing him? You said that will calm and heal him, right?"

They nodded, and the two of them pulled out their stylers. On cue, the two of them charged up the steps and sent their stylers out. I dashed after them to see the gleaming tops spin in a full circle around Ho-Oh. How many circles would it take?

Just as both stylers completed the first loop, Ho-Oh let out a fierce screech and rose up to his feet. He spread his good wing and towered over us, blotting out the sun. He opened his beak and sent out an inferno of flames. Both stylers were engulfed in the fire and there was a shattering sound.

Lunick and Solana quickly recalled their stylers, alarmed.

"Did they break?" I asked.

"Not yet. But they took a lot of damage. One more hit like that, and they will break!"

"I'm sending out some of my Pokémon," Lunick exclaimed. He sent out Poliwrath and Solana sent her Jolteon. Lunick sent his styler out again. Both Pokémon sent out attacks, which should have been highly effective against the fire bird. But Ho-Oh barely seemed to notice. He flapped his good wing and gusted the two Pokémon off of the platform. Lunick quickly recalled his styler before Ho-Oh could attack it again. Ho-Oh turned his heat to us and opened his beak.

"Look out!" I shouted.

The captured Golem leapt forwards and kicked up a shield of rock and earth. Ho-Oh's blast hit the shield, deflecting the worst of the attack, but the heat was still searing.

"We can't do it this way!" I hissed. "We need to work together! I'll send out my Pokémon to battle with Ho-Oh, and while he's distracted, you capture him!"

The two rangers nodded and I gestured to Dewey. My Roserade danced up the stairs and sent out a web of tangled vines that covered the top of the tower. Several of the vines snaked around Ho-Oh's legs, holding him in place. Otta, being the smallest on my team, dove into the grass and used the brush for cover as she ran up beneath Ho-Oh. Frustrated by the net of grass, Ho-Oh's aimed his next Flamethrower at Dewey. It struck her dead-on. She didn't stand a chance. I quickly returned her.

Charren swooped down and looped around Ho-Oh's head, making the great bird screech in annoyance and try to snap at her. Polaris, Charro, and Inx charged up around Ho-Oh and began pestering him with small static bolts and jet of flame.

There was a flash of blue-white as the two stylers spun around Ho-Oh. The thick grass was partially hiding them from the great bird. Meanwhile, the rest of the Pokémon the to rangers had captured dashed around the edge of the grass, digging up walls of rock and earth as a further shield for the stylers.

Charren dodged in and took a swipe at Ho-Oh,s beak. Ho-Oh opened his mouth wide and sent out Fire Blast. Charren dove out of the way and Ho-Oh's attack hit the thicket of grass, sending up a cloud of dark smoke. Charro and Inx made use of the smoke screen to dash around behind Ho-Oh. Charren swooped above Ho-Oh. Polaris remained in front, keeping Ho-Oh's attention.

Ho-Oh's head turned sharply as he caught a glimpse of one of the stylers flashing past. He opened his beak to attack. At that moment, Otta, hidden beneath Ho-Oh, unleashed a jet of water up at Ho-Oh's belly. Ho-Oh shrieked and thrashed wildly. Otta fled from Ho-Oh's stomping feet and darted behind me for safety.

Together, the remainder of my team attacked Ho-Oh from all sides with fire and electricity. Ho-Oh screeched and readied another attack, aiming for the stylers again. As the fire burst forth, Ponyta, Charizard, and Infernape all leapt into the line of fire and sent up a wall of flames, deflecting Ho-Oh's attack. Plusle, Minun, and Inx all appeared and added electricity to fortify the shield. It worked, and Ho-Oh's flames dispersed before they hit the line of the stylers.

But as Charren flapped to gain altitude again, she strayed too close to the huge beak, and it snapped shut on her wing.

Charren bellowed in pain. Ho-Oh's head snapped around and flung Charren to the ground. She fell with a crash and lay still. I returned her, cursing silently. Charren was one of my top players, and Ho-Oh had taken her out so easily. How many more loops would it take before they had captured Ho-Oh? We couldn't keep this up much longer!

Inx bounded forwards and let loose Discharge. It struck Ho-Oh, making him reel back in pain.

_Polaris!__Use__Fire__Spin!_I exclaimed. Polaris opened her mouth and sent forth her signature vortex of fire. It surrounded Ho-Oh, spinning around him and singeing his feathers. It at least served to block the stylers from view, even if it wouldn't do too much damage. Then a jet of fire broke through Polaris's Fire Spin and went straight for where Polaris, Inx, and Charro were clustered. Polaris as the fastest to react and bounded out of the way. Charro managed to leap to the side, but he stumbled in the remaining vines and fell. Inx wasn't fast enough to escape the attack, and the next Flamethrower hit the downed Infernape. Both of my Pokémon fell.

Polaris snorted and broke into a gallop, making almost a full circle around Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh tried to turn to keep an eye on her, but wasn't fast enough and tottered off balance. Polaris turned sharply and charged straight at Ho-Oh, colliding heavily with the huge bird's flank. Ho-Oh's feet snagged on the remaining vines and he toppled over, crashing to his side. He flailed wildly, trying to get his feet under him. But his beak lashed out and struck Polaris in the leg. She squealed as her knee gave way under the fierce blow, and she collapsed.

"Polaris!" I shouted.

Ho-Oh slowly pushed himself to his feet, rage gleaming in his eyes. He raised his head, and once again the beak opened, the air rippling before his mouth from the heat stored within.

The top level of the shrine pulsed with a gold light, which converged in towards Ho-Oh. I flinched, automatically thinking it was some sort of fire pulse. But when I looked up, Ho-Oh wasn't moving. He was standing there with his beak open, but the heat ripples had vanished.

Comprehension slowly dawned on me. That golden pulse that had surrounded Ho-Oh was from the stylers. They'd completed their final loop!

Slowly Ho-Oh closed his beak. He turned his head to look at Lunick, Solana and I.

"Did it work?" I asked. "Did the capture heal Ho-Oh?"

Slowly, Ho-Oh spread his wings, as though testing them. His injured wing straightened without a hint of pain. Ho-Oh flapped a couple times, and then closed his eyes as if in relief.

Breathing heavily and shaking from nerves, I managed to stagger over to Lunick and Solana. Polaris pushed herself to her feet and headed slowly over to us, limping and favoring her injured foreleg.

Ho-Oh opened his eyes and slowly turned to look at us again. Then he bowed his head in gratitude. He spread his wings once more, and then lifted off into the sky. One time the gleaming golden bird circled overhead, and then he soared off into the sky.

…

The three of us made our way back to the Ranger Union. Lunick caught a Doduo for me to ride so Polaris could rest. We were giddy with success, and most of the ride was occupied by statements such as:

"Did you feel how _hot_ Ho-Oh's fire was?"

"It was smart to use the vines like that!"

"Your Pokémon have awesome fire power!"

"Do you think Ho-Oh will be okay?"

At the Wintown Ranger Base, I healed my Pokémon and we flew back to Fall City.

"It's getting kinda late," Solana said as we flew over the city, preparing to land, "but we can check the ferry schedule for you. The next ferry to Kanto might not be for a few days though."

"That's okay. I wouldn't mind looking around Fiore some more."

Dragonite and Charren landed and the three of us headed to the lobby. The woman behind the desk called out to Lunick and Solana.

"Hey, guys. The Go-Rock Quads wanted to see you when you got back. They said to call them when you were ready."

Lunick pulled out his phone and dialed the number. I followed them outside where the sun was setting, dying the clouds overhead many shades of lavender and gold. Lunick talked for a minute, and then he hung up.

"They're on their way," he said. "They didn't want to call us in case we were in the middle of something important, but they want to give us something."

We sat on a bench outside of the union, but we didn't have long to wait. The four musicians came into view in a couple minutes.

"Oh, great, you're still here!" Tiffany exclaimed. To my surprise, she was talking to me. "We wanted to give you something." She held out a CD.

We were working all day," Billy informed us, "to write a song about the battle."

"What?" I exclaimed. "You wrote a song about the battle?"

"Yeah!" Clyde said. "I think it turned out pretty good. We have ideas for a few more also."

"We'll have to keep in touch with you so we can send them to you later," Garrett added. "And maybe if you have time, you could do another battle for us before you leave."

Rather startled, I stammered, " Uh, yeah, sure. I could do that."

"You should have seen the way she battled Ho-Oh!" Lunick exclaimed.

There was a hushed silence. Then in unison, the Go-rock Quads said, "What?"

So, we had to go through and explain the whole thing to them.

"Wow," Billy muttered when we'd finished. "I would have loved to see that."

"How do you think Ho-Oh's doing now?" Tiffany asked.

"I think he'll be fine," I replied confidently.

"Well, the Pokémon attacks have definitely stopped," Clyde said. "The wild Pokémon are behaving themselves again. That's got to be a good sign."

"Did you hear that?" I exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Everyone said together, looking around alertly.

"Listen."

Silence.

"Oh, I hear it!"

"I heard it too!"

As one, all of us turned skyward and saw a shape glittering gold in the setting sun. The large bird circled three times over Fall City, opening his beak and letting out a musical cry. Then he rose up into the clouds and disappeared from sight.


	4. Reading Minds

So, I started writing the chapter that comes after this, and then I realized that if I wanted the next plot to move smoothly, I should actually do these chapters next. So, I'm behind for this chapter, but I'll be ahead for a future chapter. ^-^'

Actually, this chapter is one that I should have had in my last fanfic, but it got lost. Heheh. I wonder if I should turn it into a lame flashback or try to put it in the present…

Man, I'm always afraid I'm gonna run out of battle strategies. But when I sit down to write, they just come pouring out! Plus they're fun to do also!

Reading Minds

I haven't met many other people who could talk to Pokémon. I can do it because I have sort of weak psychic powers. Hari, the kid who Ben and I watch over, can talk to Pokémon too, but in a different way. Hari was raised with Pokémon, and so understands their language.

It's a rare occasion when I meet someone who shares our gifts. My battle with such a person a few months ago was one of the best battles I've taken part in. I think it's worth it to go back and tell about it.

* * *

><p>"So, do you think you'll take the Battle Frontier challenge, Cara?" Ben asked.<p>

Ben, Hari and I had arrived at the Battle Frontier that afternoon on the ferry. Ben and I walked through the Frontier, looking at the different buildings. Hari was running back and forth, narrowly avoiding crashing into people. Eon, my Espeon, was trotting at my heels.

I wasn't sure yet whether or not I wanted to go through with the entire challenge. I'd done a lot of challenges before and I figured that this would be a lot like the others. And I'd heard that one of the challenges required you to use rental Pokémon. That didn't appeal to me in the least. My connection to my Pokémon was the reason I could do well in battles. Although it might not be so bad since I could talk to the rental Pokémon…

"I wonder if we can watch any of the battles," I said. "That might help me decide whether or not I want to go through with it."

"We could find someone to ask," Ben said, glancing around to try to find someone who looked official.

"Hari!" I shouted. "Get over here!"

Hari had managed to climb up onto an awning above one of the building entrances. Several of the passersby were staring up at him in bewilderment.

Hari looked up when I called and swung down to the ground. Onlooking people gasped, thinking Hari would splat on the cement. Not so. Hari had grown up in the woods, and was very good at climbing. His long tangled, dark brown hair and his baggy shirt didn't exactly make him look civilized either.

Hari hopped over to us, acting like a Growlithe puppy.

"Come on," I said. "We're trying to find an arena where we can watch a battle."

"There's someone you could ask," Hari suggested, pointing at a boy who had just walked out of one of the arenas. He had purple hair and pants, and a white jacket.

"Hey," I said, walking up to him, "I was wondering if there was an arena around here where I could watch one of the matches."

"Yeah, several of the stadiums have audience stands," he said. "We actually just had a match in here," he said, gesturing to the arena behind me.

I was about to ask if he'd just challenged the Frontier Brain when he knelt down in front of Eon and rubbed him between the ears. Eon closed his eyes contentedly, which was rare for him to do with strangers.

"You have a very healthy Espeon!" the boy said. "He looks like he's been in a lot of battles."

"Yeah, he has," I agreed. "He's one of my best battlers."

"Did you bring him here to challenge the Battle Frontier?" the boy inquired.

I shrugged. " I'm not quite sure yet."

"I guess it takes some planning before you challenge something like this, huh?"

Eon looked up at me and said, _this__ is__ one__ of__ the__ Frontier __Brains,__ you__ know._

I blinked at him. "What, really?"

The boy stood up and looked at me. "You mean you heard that?" he asked.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You just heard your Espeon talk!"

"You can hear it also!" I exclaimed.

"That's one of the reasons I was able to become a Frontier Brain. I don't meet other people who can talk to Pokémon."

"Well, you've just met two," I said, smiling. "This kid here can do it too." I patted Hari's head. Hari grinned broadly.

The Frontier Brain's face lit up. "This is great! Will, uh, I mean, will you battle me? It doesn't have to be an official battle, but I've never battled anyone else like me!"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" I exclaimed. "I don't get to battle people like me either!"

"Come on, then!" He led us back into the building he'd just walked out of. When we were inside, he turned to face us. "My name's Anabel, by the way.

…...Ahhhhhhh, I though she was a boy. At least I didn't say anything embarrassing.

"I'm Cara," I said. "That's Hari." Hari had already gone running across the arena and he was jumping up into the stands.

"I'm Ben," Ben said.

"It's nice to meet you, Anabel said. "I guess I should have asked this before, but do you have your team ready?"

"Yeah, my team's nice and healthy."

"I still have some Pokémon on my team that are at full health. So we can do the usual three-on-three."

"Sounds good," I agreed.

Ben went over to the stands and took a seat. Hari perched beside him, though I doubt he'd stay put for long.

Eon sat down at my heels, waiting his turn. I pulled a Pokéball from my belt and held it out. Anabel did the same. By the time I threw out my Pokéball, I was starting to form a battle strategy.

The two Pokéballs burst open, revealing Anabel's Alakazam, and my Glaceon, Gilssay. The two Pokémon jumped into action immediately. Glissay used Ice Shard, but Alakazam used his psychic powers to deflect the shards. The sharp ice spears embedded themselves throughout the stadium.

Alakazam used Psybeam and Glissay bounded to the side to dodge, but stumbled and fell. Alakazam's next Psybean hit its mark. Glissay staggered to her feet and dashed off, dodging the next volley of attacks. She seemed slower to react than she usually was. It took me a minute to realize why.

Anabel could speak to Pokémon telepathically, just like I could. She didn't need to shout out orders to her Pokémon. Which made me wonder, did I rely too much on hearing the trainers shout out orders to their Pokémon? I rarely shouted orders to my Pokémon. I opened a telepathic connection to my Pokémon during battles, and told them what to do in my head. Which might have given me a slight edge in most battles. Now that edge was taken away. Except the same thing was true for Anabel too. Whenever either of us fought an opponent where we weren't alerted to our opponent's moves, it was a wild Pokémon. That was much different that fighting trained Pokémon.

I felt the heat of an intense battle building inside of me and I grinned. Oh yeah, this was what a good battle was all about!

"Right!" I shouted. "Let's do this!"

Alakazam used Psycho cut, but Glissay bounded up out of the way and raced in directly at Alakazam. Alakazam moved to dodge, but wasn't quick enough and Glissay's Bite hit. Alakazam lashed out with his spoons and managed to catch Glissay a blow to the shoulder. Alakazam immediately teleported across the stadium and started sending out a volley of psychic attacks. Glissay darted back and forth, dodging most of the attacks and taking some damage from others. Then she used Hail, and hard pellets of ice began to pelt down from the ceiling. But Alakazam just used psychic to protect himself.

Glissay opened her mouth, sending out a jet of ice. As she turned her head, she formed a ramp of ice. She locked her feet in place and slid up the ice slide. The moment she was on the top, she used Ice Shard at Alakazam, who teleported to safety.

Glissay turned her head and sent out more ice, creating a bizarre glistening landscape of ice statues. She bounded from one to another, making for Alakazam. She leapt at him from over a table of ice and he teleported to safety again, right in the center of a ring of ice formations. Alakazam used Psychic, making a whirling Blizzard out of Glissay's hail. He was trying to reduce visibility.

Glissay turned sharply and made for Alakazam. He raised his spoons as he say Glissay bounding straight at him. But nothing happened. A moment later, he whirled his spoons again. And his Psycho Cut shot straight at Glissay's head.

_Crack! _

The ice splintered, sending needles of frozen water throughout the arena. Alakazam cried out in alarm and covered his eyes. By the time he realized that he'd just attacked an ice reflection, it was too late. Glissay chomped down with Ice Fang.

"Kazaaaam!" Alakazam cried as ice crept down his arm, freezing it solid. Glissay whirled on the spot and kicked Alakazam. He tumbled to the ground, landing in the spot where the ice block had just shattered. And he prepared to use Recover.

But at that moment, the Future Sight Alakazam had used a minute before appeared and hit him dead on. Alakazam collapsed to the ground, beaten by his own attack.

I exhaled in relief. That was one down.

Anabel was grinning as she returned her Alakazam. She was as excited about this match as I was. Her next Pokémon was Metagross.

The hail subsided as the two Pokémon faced each other.

Glissay vaulted off one of her ice pillars and charged straight at Metagross. Metagross swung one of his massive arms with Metal Claw, but Glissay slipped beneath it. Another arm swung in from the other direction and my Glaceon bounded up over it. Glissay's Bite hit Metagross. She sprang up over Metagross's head and dropped behind him. She slid up beneath the giant metal Pokémon and used Ice Shard up at Metagross's belly. Metagross growled in annoyance and stomped at Glissay. She darted out of the way and took refuge behind one of her ice formations. Metagross smashed it with a single swipe of his powerful arm. Glissay whirled and charged again. Once again, she slipped beneath Metagross's first swing and leapt over the second. In that split second as she was suspended in the air, both of us saw the arm swinging around straight at her.

Hammer Arm smashed into her side and sent her flying across the arena. She landed in a heap.

My heart pounding with the heat of the battle, I returned Glissay and sent out Larune, my Leafeon.

I often trained my Eevee team together. I taught them to build on each other's strengths. So when Larune landed on the slippery ice, he was easily able to skate along the pillars and ramps. Within moments, he was right on top of Metagross and he used Magical Leaf. But neither grass nor Glissay's ice attacks dealt any real damage to the steel Pokémon. Metagross immediately countered with Zen Headbutt. Larune crashed to the ground.

He staggered to his feet and escaped beneath Metagross, taking momentary refuge between his opponent's huge feet. The moment Metagross moved, Larune shot out from beneath him. Metagross started after him, but Larune's Grass Knot caught around his huge foot and Metagross went crashing to the ground. The impact made the entire stadium shake. Larune sped back in and used Giga Drain, leaching some of Metagross's energy to restore his depleted strength. He sped away as Metagross got to his feet again.

Metagross smashed several more of the ice structures as he stomped towards Larune. Then to our surprise. Metagross suddenly moved forwards in a blur of motion. He knew Agility! Larune tried to move, but in his haste he slipped on the ice and fell. As Metagross bore down on him, Larune used one final attack. Sunny Day's warmth lit up the stadium, dispersing the icy chill left by Glissay. Meteor Mash sent Larune crashing in a heap against the wall.

I returned him. "Okay, Eon," I called to my Espeon, "it's your turn!"

Eon dashed out to face Metagross. He kicked a cloud of ice shards into Metagross's face. Metagross bellowed and turned away. Eon used Psychic and dashed behind Metagross, using Psybeam. Metagross whirled around angrily and used Pursuit. Eon stumbled backwards from the attack and landed in a puddle of slush. The heat from Sunny Day was starting to melt the smaller fragments of ice.

Eon cried out and rushed forwards, using Return. The attack hit dead center, and Metagross finally fell to the ground with a crash.

Anabel returned him. "Okay," she said, smiling. "I think it's time to move to your level." And she threw out her last Pokéball.

It was Espeon.

The two Espeon eyed each other for a few seconds. Then Anabel's Espeon charged.

Eon leapt into the air and landed on one of the remaining ice pillars. It too was beginning to melt, and was incredibly slippery. Eon slid onto his belly and slipped down the ramp. Espeon followed, leaping up after him. He slipped immediately and fell after Eon.

But Eon was in a controlled descent. The moment his feet were on the ground, he turned and used Psybeam. Espeon was blasted off of the ice and tumbled across the stadium. Eon used Pybeam again, breaking an ice pillar that was above Espeon. Espeon leapt out of the way of the falling ice. His Swift attack hit Eon, but Eon retreated into an area that was thick with remaining ice formations. Our opponent Espeon followed him.

Reflections of the two Pokémon rose up from every direction. Some of them were strange, distorted shapes cast by the twisted ice. Both Espeon slunk around, alert for signs of their opponent. In this forest of mirrors, it was almost impossible to tell which one was real. I narrowed my eyes, trying to pick out the real Espeon.

_Eon, keep your ears open and don't move. _

Eon nodded and crouched in a small ice tunnel. He sat absolutely still, with the melting ice dripping all around him. Mirror images of Anabel's Espeon rose up, converging on the area where Eon was hiding.

Then there was a tiny _splish_ sound as our opponent's paws hit the slush of the melting ice.

Immediately Eon launched out of his hiding place and fell one Espeon. The two Pokemon tumbled through the ice, dozens of copies rising up around them. They bit and clawed at each other, each trying to get the upper hand on the other. Then Espeon sprang forwards and landed on Eon, pinning him to the ground. Espeon stared down at Eon for a moment, and then opened his mouth for the final attack.

But Eon moved faster. His Psychic attack shoved Espeon off of him. Eon sprang after him and used Return.

Espeon landed on his feet, but a moment later his legs buckled and he collapsed to the ground. Eon stood, panting, over his defeated opponent.

I gasped in relief. We had done it.

Hari and Ben cheered madly from the stands. Anabel returned her Espeon and Eon came limping back to me. I picked him up and hugged him. "Great job, buddy. You're amazing."

"Es," Eon sighed.

"Ah," Anabel gasped, putting a hand against her heart. "That was the most amazing battle I've had in a long time! You share an amazing connection with your Pokémon. And you have an amazing way of altering the stage to fit your battle."

I gave a shaky laugh. "Yeah, I seem to do that a lot."

She walked over to me. "Most trainers don't think about that so much. They may utilize what already exists, but they don't usually make their own stage."

"It's these guys that pull it off," I said, holding Eon out.

Anabel rubbed Eon between the ears again. "You have some amazing Pokémon there. They trust you a lot."

"Me too. Trust them, I mean.

"I think you've earned this, by the way," Anabel said, holding out her hand.

I reached out and she dropped something into my open palm. I looked down and saw a small golden badge. It was the Ability Symbol, the mark of having defeated Anabel.

I let out a small laugh. "Even though it wasn't an official battle?"

Anabel shrugged. "Official enough. So, what do you think? Do you think you'll take the rest of the Battle Frontier challenge?"

I glanced over at Ben and Hari. Then I grinned. "I think I might, yeah."


	5. Happy Birthday

I was going to say something for the new readers who haven't met Twilight yet, about how he's in here because I love his character and I didn't intend for it to be tacky… but it just sounds stupid, so I'll stop now. -_-

This chapter isn't really exciting, but I needed it to introduce characters that will be important later. This is one of those chapters where I completely wing it. ^-^'

Happy Birthday

"Do you think he'd rather get his first Pokémon from Professor Oak?" I asked.

"Are you still on about that?" Ben groaned. "Why does it matter?"

"Well, it's Ethan's tenth birthday, so he's heading off on his Pokémon journey in just a few days. But I'd feel better if he had a Pokémon from Avalon."

"Then why don't you just give him one? You're making this more difficult than you need to."

With that less than satisfactory reply, I dragged myself off the couch and walked across the field in front of the Avalon house. It didn't take me long to get to the big lake near the house.

Ben's Blastoise and my Swampert were having a sort of wrestling match on the bank of the lake. Their hands were locked and they were trying to throw their opponent into the water. An audience consisting of Mudkip, Psyduck, and Vaporeon, was cheering them on. Little Twilight was with them also, watching in fascination as the two big Pokémon tussled, pushing each other back and forth to try to throw the other off balance.

Swamp took a step backwards, and Blastoise stumbled, caught off guard. Swamp acted quickly, heaving Blastoise to the side where he splashed into the water. Blastoise scrambled to his feet, grumbling in annoyance at his defeat.

"Oh, he won!" Twilight said.

"They were focusing so hard on pushing against each other that Swamp used Blastoise's momentum against him," I explained. Twilight nodded.

"Her Pokémon know interesting maneuvers," said a voice I knew very well.

Twilight and I looked up to see Mewtwo perched on a rock along the lakeshore.

"Enjoying the show?" I asked him.

"Twilight wanted to come and play," he replied.

Twilight sloshed out of the lake and walked up to me, dripping wet. Grinning, he latched onto my leg, soaking my pants.

"Such a troublemaker," I said, pretending to be upset. I picked the baby Mewtwo up and tucked him under one arm. "Using me as a towel."

Twilight cocked his head. He hadn't actually thought of this. He'd only been coming over to snuggle. I knew this already.

Grinning, Twilight shook his tail, spraying me with water droplets. I growled in mock anger, and flipped Twilight over. I started tickling him.

"Yaaaah!" he squealed, wriggling and trying to escape.

Mewtwo smiled and shook his head.

Twilight finally managed to squirm free. Before he crashed to the ground, he caught himself with his psychic powers and landed on his feet. He was getting better about using his powers, but he was still just a couple months old. Twilight hopped away to take refuge behind Swamp. I laughed as he peeked out to look at me.

"Mewtwo," I said, walking up to the rock where Mewtwo was perched. "I'm going to my cousin's birthday party today. Would you like to come and meet my family?"

"What?" Mewtwo asked, startled. "But…"

"You could wear your cloak," I said. "I'll just tell them you're a Pokémon that doesn't like light, or something." I've known Mewtwo for two years now, since the incident on New Island. And although he often left Avalon to travel, I'd never asked him to meet any of my friends and family besides Ben and Hari.

Mewtwo looked away and was quiet for a minute. Twilight ventured out from behind Swamp and sat next to the little Mudkip on the lakeshore.

Mewtwo finally turned back to me. "I was thinking of traveling again, actually. But I can meet your family on the way, if you'd like."

I nodded. I know I shouldn't be worried when Mewtwo leaves Avalon. If anyone can take care of himself, it's Mewtwo. And he doesn't need to worry about Giovanni chasing him anymore either. I guess I just don't want anything else bad to happen to him. He's been through so much already…

"You worry too much," Mewtwo said. He knew me too well, to know what I was thinking. "It's you I'm worried about. You're the one that's always getting into trouble."

"Eheheh," I laughed guiltily, rubbing the back of my neck. Yes, Mewtwo had gotten me out of trouble on more than one occasion…

"I'll get my cloak," Mewtwo said. "Let's go, Twilight."

"Do I have to?" Twilight asked. "Can't I play more?"

"You've been playing most of the day. Cara needs to get ready, and Lily's waiting."

Twilight sighed, but allowed Mewtwo to lift him with his psychic powers. The two flew away to their home.

The little Mudkip came over and pawed at my ankle. I picked him up and walked back to the house. I needed to finish getting ready for the party.

* * *

><p>When night fell and the time of the party came around, I grabbed my Alakazam's Pokéball and prepared to teleport.<p>

I saw a movement out of my window and saw Mewtwo landing on my balcony. He was dressed in his traveling outfit of a dark gray cloak and a broad brimmed hat of the same color. I opened the door and let him in.

"Is Ben not coming?" Mewtwo asked as he stepped inside.

"He doesn't know my cousin too well, plus he's busy, as usual. He always falls behind in his work after we've been traveling."

Mewtwo nodded.

"Okay. Guess we're ready," I said. I let Kinesis out, and he teleported us to my home, Aqua Town. Since I've been staying at Avalon, Aqua Town feels less like my real home. But I am always welcome there, at least.

We landed in the front yard of my parents' home. I shut the door behind me. The sound brought Mom out of the living room and Dad came downstairs.

"Hi," Mom said. "Welcome home!"

"How's everything going?" Dad asked.

"It's been good!" I said. Admittedly, I don't tell my parents about some of the more dangerous stuff I do… They tend to worry about me a lot as it is. "I brought someone for you to meet. He's…" I trailed off when I realized that Mewtwo had disappeared. He tended to do that when other people were around.

"Hey, come on!" I shouted. "Come meet my parents!"

There was no reply.

I gave an exasperated huff and turned back to my parents. "Well, he'll show up eventually. He's kinda uneasy around people."

"That's okay," Dad said. "He'll come out of he wants to."

"We're almost ready," Mom said, sliding a dish of food into a box. She straightened up. "Oh," she said, startled.

I turned around to see what she was looking at and saw the cloaked figure in the doorway.

"This is Mewtwo," I said, stepping aside so he could stop beside me. "He's one of my best friends. I've known him for a couple years. This is my Mom and Dad."

"It's nice to meet you," Mewtwo said, bowing his head.

"You can speak!" Dad exclaimed. To my surprise, he approached Mewtwo and extended his hand. Mewtwo glanced at me and I nodded in encouragement. Mewtwo hesitated, then reached out and took Dad's hand. Dad seemed slightly startled by the odd shape of Mewtwo's hand, but he didn't say anything.

"It's nice to meet you," Mom said. "I hope Cara doesn't cause too much trouble," she teased.

"She does," Mewtwo said.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Mom and Dad laughed.

"I believe it," Dad said. "Thanks for watching over this one." He clapped me on the shoulder.

"She doesn't always tell us what she goes through," Mom continued, "but I always feel better knowing she has good Pokémon around her."

"If you talk about it like that, then this guy is a guardian angel," I sighed.

Mewtwo looked at me, startled. No one had ever called him that. Though now that I thought of that, I suppose I did think of him as something of a guardian to Avalon, my friends (both Pokémon and human), and even me.

Everyone was quiet for a minute. Then Dad said, "I guess we should get going. We don't want to be late."

Mom, Dad and I piled into the car. Mewtwo elected to ride on the roof. Though with the food on the back seat, there wasn't much place for him to ride anyway. And the dark would conceal him mostly from view.

It didn't take long to get to my aunt and Uncle's house. Mewtwo waited outside in the dark as the rest of us went inside.

It was understandable that he didn't want to go into a house with a bunch of people. But I did want to bring Ethan out to meet him.

I greeted my family and sought Ethan out.

"Happy birthday!" I said as I found him at the table, raiding the chips and dip.

"Hi," Ethan said, sitting up and grinning.

"You look excited," I noted, sitting on the couch next to him.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"When are you setting out?" I asked.

"Next week. I'm going with some of my friends from school."

"That's good. It's helpful to have some good friends when you're starting out. And make sure it's people you get along with. Getting in fights all the time can ruin a lot of the fun. Still, if you need anything on your journey, ask me."

"If we get attacked by maniacs, I'll ask you to rescue me."

"Yes, that would be a good time to call," I said, raising my eyebrows. "What Pokémon do you think you'll choose?"

"Mmm. Squirtle, I guess. I wish Professor Oak had some of the starters from other regions though."

"Yeah," I agreed. "But whoever you start with, I'm sure you won't regret it. Anyway, there's one of my Pokémon I'd like you to meet. One you've never seen before."

"Okay!" Ethan agreed, always happy to see my Pokémon.

We went to the front door and stepped outside. Mewtwo glided down from the roof and landed in front of us.

"Whoa, cool! What kind of Pokémon is that?"

"Hi," Mewtwo said.

"Whoa! He talks! I didn't know Pokémon could talk!"

"I've met several Pokémon that could talk," I said, avoiding mentioning Mewtwo's name. I knew my parents wouldn't repeat it, but Ethan might. I didn't want the name "Mewtwo" floating around out there if I could avoid it. "He's a psychic Pokémon. He uses telepathy to talk."

"Cool!" Ethan exclaimed.

My aunt called from inside the house. "Ethan! Come here for a minute!"

"I'll be in in a minute," I said. Ethan nodded and ran inside. I turned to Mewtwo.

"You have an interesting family," he said, smiling wryly.

I laughed. "Yeah, they're great though. Surrounding yourself with good people is important. Either friends or family. Especially both together." I glanced in through the open door.

Mewtwo nodded. That was something he'd learned a hard way.

"Did you figure out what you're going to give your cousin for his birthday?" Mewtwo asked.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. A baby Mudkip."

Mewtwo nodded. "Giving gifts for a birthday… an interesting custom."

Mewtwo's birthday had not been a happy day for him. I frowned. I should try to plan a birthday party for him some day. Something to make him happy about his birthday.

Mewtwo adjusted his cloak.

"Are you leaving?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Well, take care."

"You too."

I laughed. "I'll try to stay out of trouble."

"I'll be impressed if you manage." He lifted off into the air and flew away into the night."

I had no idea how much would happen before I saw him again.


	6. Haunted

Haunted

"Yes, yes, please let's go! Pleeaassse!"

"Hari, you're making my head hurt," Ben groaned.

"I agree," I muttered.

"But I've never been to a haunted house before!"

"It's not a haunted house," I mumbled as Hari bounced past me. "And people are staring at you."

Which was quite true. Several of the people in Eterna City were pausing to stare at the kid as he jumped up and down in front of me, his eyes big and pleading.

"You get the weirdest ideas in your head," I said. Hari turned around to pester Ben and I grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him backwards. "I should leave you behind whenever I run errands. And it's not like we've never been through here before. We went through Eterna Forest and passed your haunted house when we traveled through Sinnoh. We just came here to research Palkia and Dialga."

"But I didn't know there was a hunted house then!" Hari whined loudly.

"Want me to hold him down?" Ben suggested.

"You can try, but he's more slippery than a Wooper," I sighed. "Let's get out to the forest. Then he can bounce around and whine all he wants."

"But whyyyyy can't we seee the haunted houuuuse!"

"Listen, Hari, the only ghosts at the Old Chateau are ghost Pokémon," Ben said, grabbing Hari by the middle and hoisting the scrawny kid up under his arm. Hari was small enough that even I could carry him around without much difficulty.

"But I like ghost Pokémon!" Hari said, not at all bothered by being hauled around like a sack of potatoes.

"And ghost Pokémon like to make trouble," I said. "They like pranks and jokes at the expense of people."

"But you have some ghost Pokémon."

"Yes, I do. Which is why I know about them. Going into their territory is asking for trouble."

By this point we finally exited the city and got away from the staring people. Maybe Hari could work off some of his energy in the woods. Not that that meant he'd forget about the Old Chateau. Though knowing Hari, he'd probably have fun playing with the ghosts. It might be easiest just to take him so he'd stop begging to go.

"Do you want to go, Ben" I asked, glancing at him.

"Not at all," Ben said flatly. "I have a Gengar and that's more trouble than I need." Ben finally released Hari. "Why? Are you thinking of going?"

I didn't respond, but glanced in the direction of the Old Chateau.

"You're unbearable, do you know that!" Ben exclaimed, waving his arms.

"You don't have to come with us," I said. "You can wait in the city.

"Hah!" Ben snorted. "I'm not leaving you two alone in a place like that. The odds of you not getting into trouble are 0.05%."

"Ben's such a gentleman," I said, rolling my eyes. "Coming to protect the girl and the kid." Considering I'd saved him several times also, this wasn't a very accurate statement.

"Can't you at least wait until morning?" Ben persisted, following after us as we headed down the Eterna Forest road.

"Tell that to him," I said, pointing at Hari, who had already torn down an overgrown side road that lead to the Old Chateau.

"Hari!" Ben shouted after him. "We never said we were going tonight!"

But Hari didn't hear.

"I need to tie that kid up!" Ben growled, taking off at a run after Hari and shouting after him uselessly. I followed, laughing.

The forest path turned a bend and Hari and Ben disappeared from sight. I quickened my pace, not wanting to lose track of them. But when I turned the corner, I found Ben hunched over in the middle of the path, gasping for breath.

"Are you okay?" I asked, halting beside him.

"I'm - huff- gonna – huff – strangle that kid!" Ben gasped.

Together, both of us stood up and looked at what lay before us.

It was a huge mansion. At one point, it must have been quite spectacular, but it had been abandoned for a long time. The forest had long since reclaimed the gardens. What few of the original plants remained had gone wild. Native plants had choked the flowerbeds and vines clung to the fences and walls. Many of the windows were broken or boarded. It didn't look like a place I would want to go to for fun.

"Did he…" I started.

"Yep. He already went inside."

I groaned. "Well, let's go get him back," I sighed. "Though I kinda want to leave him there."

"Hang on a sec," Ben said, pulling out his laptop. He rapidly typed away. Then his eyes scanned the screen. "Hmm. Doesn't tell us much," he muttered. Apparently he'd been looking for information on the Old Chateau. "It mainly mentions the history of the building. Oh, and there's a warning. It says beware of the ghost Pokémon, and don't go near the place unless you have ghost or dark Pokémon to counter them, or a Pokémon that knows Foresight."

"I have Clora," I said, referring to my Weavile.

"I have Metagross," Ben said. "His psychic powers could be useful."

"Except he won't have much room to move around inside," I pointed out.

Ben nodded gravely. "Well, let's get this over with," he said, tucking his laptop under his arm.

Hanging rather close together, the two of us walked up the overgrown front walkway and came to the front door.

Ben tried the handle, but it was locked, or jammed shut, or something. Likely Hari had swung up through one of the windows. I pulled out one of my Pokéballs and sent out Herc, my Heracross. He rammed the door with his horn, right beneath the knob. The door swung open and banged against the inside wall.

"Thanks, Herc," I said, patting his dented horn affectionately. Ben, Herc and I stepped inside.

I was expecting it to be dark, but in fact there were candelabras and torches lit on the walls and tables, casting an eerie, flickering light. Other than that, there seemed to be no sign of life.

I suddenly felt very cold, and I suppressed a shiver. Herc huddled close to my side. The three of us stepped further into the mansion. But when we reached the center of the entryway, I grabbed Ben's arm and dragged him to a halt.

"What?" Ben said in a hushed voice.

"Listen," I whispered.

There was a faint crackling, staticy sound. The three of us glanced around, but couldn't see anything. Then suddenly something zipped into the entry and made an erratic, zig-zag circle around the room. It stopped in front of us, and floated there, its arms bobbing up and down.

"A Rotom," I said, intrigued. "They don't usually come out like this."

Ben nodded, watching the ghost in front of us with suspicion. "I don't suppose it's a welcoming committee?"

I stepped forwards to ask the Rorom what it wanted, but the moment I moved, he zipped into motion again, darting here and there all around the room. It turned sharply and zipped straight at Ben. Before either of us could react, Rotom collided with Ben's laptop and disappeared inside it with a flash of sparks and static.

"Gah!" Ben shouted, flinging his arm out as the laptop bucked free of his grip. Ben quickly regained his senses and lunged forwards to catch his computer before it hit the floor. But the laptop stopped a couple feet in front of Ben, hovering in mid-air. It clicked open and the screen flickered on, revealing the face of a Rotom on it.

"What the-" Ben started. But then Rotom grinned and squeaked. It turned its new laptop body and sped away through the doorway in front of us.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Ben shouted, sprinting through the door after his laptop. I followed him, not wanting to lose him too.

I emerged in a hallway with Herc following me. Ben was a few feet in front of me, craning his neck in either direction to try to find out where Rotom had taken his laptop.

"Damnit!" I growled in suppressed rage. He clamped his hands over his head. "That laptop has the programming project I'm working on! Do you know how many hours I've spent on that thing?" I cried, pointing wildly after his stolen laptop.

"Yeah, I do," I said. I knew how hard Ben worked on his programs, and I really felt for him. "We'll find it. But I think we might need another level of help if we're gonna navigate this place." I released Clora, my Weavile. "At least now there's a Pokémon who can protect us from any ghosts. Right, Clora?"

"Wea," she said, nodding.

"Okay, let's try the rooms then," I said. "We'll find it, I'm sure."

"If Rotom hasn't fried the system," Ben muttered darkly. He crammed his hands in his pockets and we stepped through the door in front of us.

We found ourselves in a dining hall. The table and chairs were all laid out. There were even some dusty dishes remaining on the molding tablecloth. And…

"A person!" I exclaimed. There was an older man sitting at one of the chairs on the far end of the table. His back was to us, and he didn't look up as we entered. Ben and I exchanged glances. We didn't expect anyone else to be here.

"Uh, excuse me," Ben started. "Did you see a laptop fly through here?"

I decided not to point out how weird that question sounded.

The old man sat back in his chair, and right before our eyes, he faded away into nothingness.

Ben and I froze, standing rigid. I realized that I was holding Ben's arm, and I quickly let go. We looked at each other, shocked at what we'd just seen. Herc stood behind my knees, looking concerned. Clora was cocking her head.

"Was… was that a ghost Pokémon playing tricks?" I asked her.

Clora shrugged. _Didn't seem like it. _

I shivered. "Uh, would you mind dashing around this room to see if Ben's laptop is here?"

Clora nodded and she bounded off, leaping onto the table and cabinets and even up in the chandelier. But she returned, shaking her head.

Ben and I walked rather stiffly back into the hallway and we checked the next door. The next few rooms were empty. Then we opened a door and saw light. There was a TV in the room, and it was playing nothing but static.

We heard laughter and turned to look at the bed. There was a kid sitting there. A kid with long, dark hair.

"Hari!" I exclaimed, relieved.

But as the face turned to me, I realized that it wasn't Hari. It was a girl. She'd been sitting in here, laughing at the blank TV screen. She smiled a sweet smile, and then faded away also.

My blood ran cold.

"Oh my god," I whispered to Ben. "Ghost Pokémon is one thing, but…"

"Yeah," Ben said, shaking as much as I was.

Both of us jerked our heads up as we heard a _thump_ from the floor above us. We nodded and dashed down the hall towards the stairs. We stopped at the end of the hall. Most of the stairs had rotted away and left gaping holes. There was no way to get up that way.

"Do you suppose there's another staircase?" I asked.

"I think there was on in the entrance hall," Ben said. We started to turn back, but Clora stopped us.

"Wea, weav," she said, pointing to the stairs. She sprang forwards, aiming to land right in one of the gaps where the stairs had borken.

"Wait!" I exclaimed.

But she didn't fall. She landed in midair, right where the stairs should be.

"Ah, it's an illusion," Ben said. "Cast by the ghost Pokémon."

_All the stairs are intact, _Clora informed us.

I nodded and we thundered up the invisible stairs much louder than was smart. We reached the hall on the second story, took a couple steps, and then skidded to a halt.

There was a car in the hall in front of us. A freaking car, with its headlights blazing and its engine growling. The engine let out a roar and the car jerked towards us.

"HOLY HELL!" I shouted, taking a step backwards. Except my feet caught on each other and I felt myself tilt backwards. It suddenly dawned on me that the car was another illusion of ghost Pokémon, but by then it was too late to stop my reaction.

THUD.

I landed flat on my back and lay there, stiff as a board. I knew perfectly well how to fall in the appropriate manner, but apparently when my body thought it was gonna get squashed by a CAR my usual reflexes went haywire.

I heard cackling laughter from one of the side rooms. It was the ghosts, no doubt, laughing at the results of their prank. I didn't move even as Ben peered down at me. He had been smart and stepped to the side instead of back. If it had been a real car, I would have been flattened.

"Are you okay?" He asked, holding his hand out. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. Sure enough, the car had disappeared without a trace.

"These ghosts are making me mad," I growled, rubbing my back.

"No kidding. Come on. We must be getting close."

I followed Ben down the hall, grumbling darkly and still rubbing my sore back.

There was noise coming from one of the rooms down the hall. There was a lot of laughter and other voices. We stopped outside the door, which was ajar. Ben hesitated, then pushed the door. It swung open, revealing a bedroom with a large four-poster bed. Hari was sitting on the Ben, laughing. Around him were Gastly, Haunter, Misdreavus, Shuppet, and Duskull. Rotom was there too, in its original form, floating over the bed. All of the ghosts turned to look at us as we appeared in the doorway.

"Cara! Ben!" Hari exclaimed brightly, jumping off the bed and running to us.

Ben and I looked rather coldly down at him, but he didn't seem to notice the less-than-enthusiastic reception.

"Here, Ben," Hari said, holding out Ben's laptop. "I told Rotom to give it back. He said he just liked the way it felt. I think it still works though."

"Oh, thanks," Ben said, taking his laptop back. I knew he wanted to check it, but didn't want any of the ghosts touching it again. He tucked it away in his pack, eying the ghosts warily.

"All the ghosts are really friendly," Hari said brightly.

"Is that right?" I asked flatly.

He nodded. "Yeah. And they introduced me to her too."

He pointed back at the bed and I felt a chill run up my spine. It was the girl we'd seen in the bedroom. She'd been sitting behind Hari, so I didn't notice her at first. I gulped, and then raised my hand in greeting. Ben did the same, looking rather reluctant to do so. She smiled at us again and I noticed with a jolt that I could see _through_ her.

"This is Emily. She used to live here," Hari said. So, Hari knew that she was a ghost. And he could talk so easily with here. He really was amazing in his own way.

"H-hi," Emily," I said. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you," she echoed Her voice held a sort of ripply quality to it.

"Come on," Hari said, pulling at my arm. I reluctantly followed him and stood next to the girl.

"It's okay," she said, noticing my apprehension. "Most people are afraid. They've never gotten close, at least."

I swallowed and tried to regain my senses. "Uh, Emily, if you don't mind my asking, why are you still here? Don't you want to move on? You and the old man we saw earlier?"

She smiled sadly. "Oh, I suppose that would be nice. But we can't leave, you see. There's sort of a shield around the mansion. We're stuck here. We think it's because of a Spiritomb that's sleeping beneath the mansion. They're made up of a lot of spirits, right? So that might be holding us here."

"You think it's trying to eat you?" Ben asked, horrified.

Emily shrugged. "I don't think so. It's asleep. Besides, if it wanted to, it would have eaten us long ago."

"How do you break the shield?" I asked.

Emily shrugged. "I've heard that Dusknoir sometimes guide lost spirits. Maybe that would work."

"Right!" I exclaimed. "I have a Dusknoir at Avalon. I can get it sent to me!"

"How?" Ben asked. "Don't I always send you the Pokémon you need? And Mewtwo's gone, so he can't do it either."

I froze and stared at him blankly. "Oh. Well, that's okay. I can ask Lily. She'll have no trouble doing it."

"Good point," Ben agreed.

I closed my eyes and called out telepathically. _Lily! _

There was a delay, and then I heard Lily's voice. I quickly explained what I needed. She agreed and went to find my Dusknoir.

"You should be careful," Emily said.

"What?" I asked.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked away.

"There have been strange Pokémon around too. Pokémon that look like letters. I've never seen them here before, but things have felt odd since they appeared. And the mirrors have been acting weird too." She pointed to a large, cracked mirror that rested on a dresser against the wall.

"Unown," I whispered. "I wonder what they could be doing here. I thought they stayed at the Solaceon ruins. I don't know what mirrors have to do with anything though."

Ben shrugged.

Movement caught the corner of my eye and I turned to see a man step _through_ the wall and into the room. Ben and I jumped backwards in alarm. It was the old man we'd seen in the dining hall.

Emily ran up and tugged at his arm. "Grandpa! A Dusknoir's coming! That means we can leave soon!"

All of the ghost Pokémon were grinning, happy that their spirit friends would finally be able to find peace. I suddenly forgave them for their tricks. Although somehow I figured their pranks would have been a lot worse if Emily and Hari hadn't been around to tone it down.

Suddenly all of the ghost Pokémon stopped laughing. They glanced around nervously and huddled together in the center of the room.

"What is it?" I asked. But Herc and Clora were behaving the same way, huddling against the wall and glancing around nervously. Even Hari seemed to sense something and was glancing around, concerned.

"What is that?" Emily whispered, clinging to her grandfather's side.

And then I felt it too. I started to step around the bed to rejoin my friends as an unexplained chill ran up my spine again.

Then I heard a familiar squeaking, chattering sound. All of the ghost Pokémon scattered and fled the room.

Suddenly a wave of black flooded into the room, and swirled around in a chirping tornado. A tornado of Unown.

Across the room, Ben, Hari, Herc, and Clora cried out and piled into a corner. Herc climbed into the front to protect my friends. Clora bounded across the bed where I was standing near Emily and her grandfather. She stood, ready to defend us.

One of the Unown swooped past us and Clora lashed out with Night Slash. The Unown parted, letting the attack pass through them. Then they lashed out at us. Clora jumped at them, but the wave of Pokémon knocked her to the side.

And that left me right in the path of the Unown.

"Eyaaaah!" I shouted as the flood of black bodies raced past me. And I found to my alarm that I was caught up in the tide. I scrambled desperately to break free, but realized that I no longer felt the floor beneath me.

"Ben!" I shouted, kicking out. The cloud of Unown jerked and bucked beneath me. I caught a glimpse through them and saw the starry sky above us. Somehow I'd gotten outside. But how….

Suddenly the floor of Unown parted beneath me. As I fell, I started to shout, but my voice choked out. I realized that I was falling much longer than I should be. I wrenched my eyes open and tried to turn my head to see what was beneath me. But before I could do anything, I struck the cold surface of water and sunk beneath its dark surface.


	7. The Wild Pokémon of the Wandering Woods

The Wild Pokémon of the Wandering Woods

As I broke the surface of the water, I thought wryly that it was nice of the Unown to drop me over water instead of, oh I don't know, over a field of jagged rocks. Except the water was freaking freezing.

My teeth chattered as I rubbed water out of my eyes and squinted through the inky black night. Ah, yes. There was land nearby. There's another thing that makes me feel oh-so-cheerful. I wasn't dropped in the middle of the ocean. Judging by the fresh water and the lack of waves, I as in a lake.

Times such as this don't put me in the best of moods, as you can probably tell.

Hoping that some sea monster wasn't about to rise out of the pitch-black water beneath me to swallow me, I started side-stroking towards land. It was farther than it looked. It must have been a really big lake. But I finally made it to the lakeshore and pulled myself onto the pebbly bank.

Shivering and chattering, I moved away from the water and into the trees. When it was light out, I'd try to get my bearings. Until then, I wanted to get away from the cold air wafting off of the lake. I huddled behind a tree, planning on making a pile of leaves to burrow into. Maybe there was a hollow tree I could use as a nest.

I heard a faint rustle at my side and turned to look.

"Gaah!" I shouted, pushing myself away from the thing that was staring at me and toppling onto my side.

"Reep?" said the Mareep, cocking her head at my unusual behavior.

"Don't you know better than to sneak up on people?" I growled, rather annoyed. I picked myself up again, rubbing my chest to try to warm myself up. I'd probably have to get some of these wet clothes off.

_Why were you swimming in the lake? _Mareep asked.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself so I wouldn't go snapping at Mareep. She hadn't done anything wrong, after all.

"I-I wasn't swimming," I said, stammering from the cold. "I fell in."

_How'd you fall in? _

That would be kinda hard to explain. Oh, what the hell. "Bunch of Unown dropped me in. I don't know why."

_Unown? _

"Yeah. Those black things that look like letters."

_Letters? _

Grumble. "Yes. Letters. Have you ever seen writing?"

_No. _

Oh. "Do you know what humans are?"

_No. _

That's just great. If Mareep doesn't know what a human as, that must mean than I'm way out in the middle of nowhere. I closed my eyes and started massaging my temples. I needed to call my friends.

Something warm and soft pressed against me. I opened my eyes and found that Mareep had snuggled up to me. She was so warm and soft. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around her. Nothing had ever felt so nice.

Now that the cold was off my mind, my situation became clear to me. I'd left my pack at the Old Chateau. That meant I didn't have any of my gear. There were two Pokéballs on my belt, but they were empty. Clora and Herc were with Ben and Hari.

That left me only one option: use telepathy to contact one of my Pokémon. Mewtwo might be the best bet. Except I didn't want to bother him when he was away. Maybe Lily. She could at least tell Ben where I was, and he could come get me.

I snuggled up to Mareep and called out, _Lily! I need your help! _

I waited, but there was no response. Perplexed, I called out again. Still nothing.

Okay, let's try something else.

_Polaris? _

No.

_Clora? Kinesis? Herc! Glissay! EON! _

Panic rose up in me. Why couldn't I contact any of them? Had the Unown fried my psychic powers? But then how could I still be talking to Mareep?

Slowly, shakily, I reached out with my telepathy. And then I felt it - an invisible shell reflecting all of my attempts to call outside of the woods.

"Mareep," I said, starting to chatter again, and not from the cold this time. "Do you know what might be strong enough around here to stop telepathy?"

Mareep cocked her head. _Maybe. But it might be better if you asked Enchanter. _

No idea who that is, but a lead is a lead. "Great. Can we visit him in the morning?"

_I guess so. _

"Great." I paused. "Thank you, by the way. My name's Cara."

_I'm Ammy. _

…

I woke up the next morning and kept my eyes closed for a few seconds. I needed to figure out a way to get in touch with my friends. So either I needed to break the strange barrier that was blocking my telepathy, or I needed to get away from the barrier. But I didn't know how to go about either of those.

I felt Ammy shift in front of me. Then I felt something move _behind_ me.

I sat up very quickly and heard a couple frightened squeaks. Ammy was there, but so were two other Pokémon: A Teddiursa and a Natu. I took a deep breath. I'd had enough of having my hair scared off.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I didn't mean to startle you. Thanks for keeping me warm last night."

Teddiursa toddled closer to me and cocked his head. _Are you really a human? _

I nodded.

Natu fluttered up to land on Ammy's back. _Mom told me about them. _

"I guess humans never come around here, huh?"

The three of them shook their heads.

"I don't suppose there's any way you could find out where the closest humans are?"

_If Mom was here, I could ask her, _said Natu, _But she's gone. _

"What are your names?" I asked.

_Ringo, _said Teddiursa.

_Sibo, _Natu replied.

I could tell that these three Pokémon were all rather young. They probably wouldn't be able to do anything directly. But Ammy had said something promising last night.

"So, who is Enchanter?" I asked.

The three of them fell silent.

_He knows everything, _Sibo said mysteriously.

_He knows where things will happen, _Ammy added, rather unhelpfully.

_He's kinda scary, _Ringo added.

Was it even worth asking them what kind of Pokémon he was if they were just going to give my cryptic answers like that? That wasn't the important part though.

"Ammy said that he might be able to help me." I quickly explained about getting stuck here.

Ammy and Ringo nodded knowingly.

_Enchanter might know the answers, _Ammy said.

_Enchanter could help, _Ringo echoed.

"Okay… where can I find him?"

The three looked at each other again.

_Maybe you should ask Lana, _Sibo suggested.

The other two nodded in agreement.

_Yeah, Lana would know how to find Enchanter, _Ammy agreed.

"Where's Lana?" The fact that they were cute little Pokémon meant that I was less irritated with them than I would probably be in other circumstances.

They exchanged glances again. They didn't seem to know where to find anyone, did they? But then again, they were just kids. They couldn't be expected to know everything anymore than a human kid would.

_Lana wanders around a lot, _Ringo said.

_But she stays in the caves during the day, _Ammy pointed out. _She'd probably be there now. _

_It's not too far away, _Ringo said. He tugged at my pants. _Come on! _

I started to follow Ammy and Ringo. Sibo rode on my shoulder, blinking around at the scenery. I wondered where I'd be able to grab breakfast. I was hungry after missing dinner yesterday.

The walk took about ten minutes. We reached a rocky area against a small slope, and there seemed to be some small caves dotted about the area.

_Lana! _Ammy and Ringo called. _Lana, come out! _

Now I was very curious what sort of Pokémon Lana was.

Ringo pushed my ankle to get me to move forwards. I did so without really thinking. And I didn't notice when Sibo hopped off my shoulder and landed on a nearby rock where the other two were waiting.

I moved towards the cave in front of me.

"Helooo," I called, kneeling down to peer inside.

I thought I saw movement from deep within the shadows. Then without warning, the blackness lunged out towards me. Before I knew what was happening, my foot shot out and collided with something.

Confused, I looked down and found that a Pokémon had crashed headlong into my heel. A Houndour.

_What'd ya do that for? _Houndour growled, taking a step back so that my foot returned to the ground.

"I could ask the same thing," I countered. "What's the big idea, lunging out at me like that?"

_Yeah? And what would you do if you saw a monster's face in front of your house and heard people calling your name outside? _

"I'm not a monster. I'm a human."

_Humans _are_ monsters! _

I wasn't sure how to reply to that one. Finally I said, "Not all of them. Listen, I was told that you could help me find Enchanter."

_Feh, _Lana snorted. _So, those numbskulls brought you here so I'd help you find him? _I looked back to see my three guides peering at us from behind a rock. I should have seen the warning when the three of them cowered behind a rock as I moved forwards.

_Tough luck. Enchanter's always moving around. And I'm not sure I'd help you even if I knew where to find him. _

"Because I'm a human?"

_Bingo. I'm not as gullible as those guys, to help anyone that comes along. Plus, they don't know about you humans like I do. _

"Hmmm. I suppose you had some traumatic event with humans then."

_If I have, it's none of your business. _

"Fair enough. If I really am that horrible, I'm sure this all-knowing Enchanter will cast judgment on me, or something. So if you help me find him, I'll get out of your fur."

Lama smirked. _Nice try. I'm sure you've got some hidden weapon and are just waiting to snatch Enchanter away. _

Throwing caution to the wind, I bent over and put my face up to Lana's. She bared her teeth, no doubt ready to chomp my nose off if I made one wrong move.

_I speak the language of Pokémon, _I said very deliberately. _With my telepathy, I cannot lie. And I tell you now, I mean no harm whatsoever to any of the Pokémon in this forest. The only reason I want to find Enchanter is so that I can get home. _

I'm not sure if it was what I said, or my boldness at exposing my face to her teeth, but Lana seemed to ponder for a minute.

_That doesn't do you any good. I already told you. I don't know where to find him. He usually shows up when he's wanted though. I'd suggest you run off into the woods, shouting out for him. You'd have more luck than you would hanging around here. _

_There's no need for that. I'm here. _

Five sets of eyes shifted to the top of the ridge to see a sleek white Pokémon standing there. An Absol.

He leapt lightly down to land beside Lana and I. Ammy, Sibo, and Ringo all shrank away behind their rock, hiding from Enchantor. And Lana took the distraction as an opportunity to back away into her cave. I saw her eyes gleaming out of the darkness as she watched us.

I decided to ignore the others. "Uh, Absol, Enchanter, I was told that you might be able to help me." I explained about the Unown at the Old Chateau.

Enchanter stared off into the distance for a long time. I waited somewhat impatiently until he finally began speaking again.

_We are in the Wandering Woods, near the Solaceon Ruins, where the Unown of Sinnoh make their home. The Unown seem to have carried you quite a distance. While the ruins are the nearest human landmark, it would take a long time for you to walk to them. The Unown are likely the ones creating the barrier that's blocking your telepathy. It may be that the barrier is attached only to your mind. In which case the only way for you to remove the barrier is to confront the Unown and get them to remove it. _

"What? Why would they put a barrier on my mind? And why were they acting all strange? And how am I supposed to confront them? They're not the safest Pokémon to be around."

Enchanter shook his head. _I do not know why they would put such a barrier on your mind. I may be mistaken about it completely. Or perhaps the Unown doing so was a mistake in itself. But as to why the Unown are behaving oddly, I would guess that it has something to do with the shifting of the barriers between the dimensions. _


	8. Broken Team

I feel kinda bogged down in this section. I shall resist whining though. ^-^' Anyway, I'll wrap this section up pretty soon and get on to the part I'm excited about!

Ammy-Mareep, Sibo-Natu, Ringo-Teddiursa, Lana-Houndour, Enchanter-Absol

Broken Team

"Dimensions," I repeated. "That definitely sounds foreboding, but I don't get what it has to do with me. Or the Old Chateau."

Enchantor thought for a minute before continuing. _It is said that Unown are found in other dimensions. Whether they travel between them often, or if they got stuck there from this world I do not know. Perhaps they even came here from a different world. So it is logical that they may show up when the barrier between the dimensions is open. _

"So… the barrier was broken at the Old Chateau?"

_You said the ghost girl mentioned something about the mirrors behaving oddly? _

"But what does…" Then something clicked. "Mirrors," I repeated. "Isn't Giratina supposed to me able to see into and influence our world through mirrors?"

_So the Unown sensed the activity, perhaps, and you got caught up with them as they swarmed back towards their home. Apparently the barrier between dimensions is even thinner at the ruins right now, so this may not be the end of their activity. _

"Unown are crazy," I muttered. "The less I have to do with them the better. But you're saying I need to confront the Unown? To find out why I can't reach my friends?"

_That is up to you. _

"So, even if we do manage to get to Solaceon Town, my telepathy might still be screwy and I'd need to go to the ruins anyway. Greeeaaaat."

_You won't need to go alone, _Enchanter said. _There are five of us here who can accompany you, and I know of a sixth. _

_Excuse me, _Lana growled from within her cave, _but you're not including me in any of this! _

Enchanter turned to look at her. _You are a dark type and will be strong against the Unown. Unless you want this human hanging around your home forever, I suggest you come along. _

Lana bared her teeth and growled in frustration but didn't say anything else.

_Wait a minute, _Ammy said, stepping cautiously forwards. _How can _we_ help? We're not good at anything! _

I shrugged. "It's a long way to the Solaceon Ruins, right? I can help you train. I've trained a lot of Pokémon."

The three of them exchanged glances. They turned to me and nodded.

_Okay! _

_Sounds fun! _

_You think we could actually get stronger? _

I grinned and turned back to Enchanter. "So, who's this sixth Pokémon you were talking about?"

_I will go and see if he's willing. You may wait here. _Enchantor turned and sped off into the woods.

"Phew," I sighed, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry!"

Ringo walked up and help out his paw. The fur around his fingers was soaked in honey. A golden drop plipped to the ground.

"Oh, uh, no. Thank you."

Ringo cocked his head, stuck his paw in his mouth, and sucked on the honey-soaked fur.

_There's some berries over there_, Sibo informed me.

The three of my friendlier Pokémon companions accompanied me. There were a few scattered berry trees. While not as skilled a climber as Hari, I always enjoyed climbing trees. I swung up into the branches and Sibo fluttered up to join me. She pecked berries down from the highest limbs I couldn't reach and let them fall to where Ringo caught them. I tossed berries down to Ammy, who let them bounce off of her cushy back.

When we had a nice pile of assorted berries, the four of us gathered together and started eating. It was tasty enough, but I had a hunch I'd get tired of berries before long.

As we ate, I started thinking of a training program. It would help if I knew who our sixth member was, but until then I'd have to work with what I had.

We finished up our pile of berries and I stood up, brushing my hands off against each other.

"Okay, guys. I want to see what you've got."

_I don't got anything, _Ringo said, eying his empty paws in some confusion.

"No, I mean I want to see how strong you are."

_Ohh, _the three of them chorused. I glanced over to where Lana was sitting, watching us with narrowed eyes. I decided to ignore her for a while. I'd have time to "get to know" her later.

Ammy, Sibo, and Ringo stood at attention in front of me.

"Okay. Let's see. Ammy, you first. Use Thundershock. I held out my arms to present a target. "Go on."

_What? On you? _

"Yep. Go for it. Believe me. Whatever you're about to do, I've had many times worse. So don't try to hold back."

Ammy hesitated, then let her wool flare up with electricity. She unleashed it and the Thundershock rushed towards me. It hit and I flinched, automatically tensing. Yeah, that was what I thought. Not too powerful.

"Okay," I said, smoothing down my hair which had frizzed up from the attack. "Sibo, your turn."

I tested out Sibo's and Ringo's strength too and was none too impressed with what I found. From what little I'd seen of Lana, she seemed at least somewhat stronger. And Enchanter looked pretty powerful.

I'd need to set up some simple exercises for them. Some targets and maybe some obstacles to help Sibo's Flying and Ringo's agility.

"Enchanter's here," Sibo announced a few minutes later.

I turned, but didn't see anything. A few seconds later, Enchanter bounded out of the bushes.

_I've found another who will help you. _

"That's great," I sighed, somewhat discouraged by the low levels of my little friends. I was sure they'd improve fast, but Unown weren't something to go against unless you were really confident.

Then a second Pokémon stepped out of the bushes. A Zangoose.

_This is Ganza, _Enchantor informed us. _I told him of your predicament and he's agreed to accompany us. He's a fairly skilled fighter. _

Ganza smirked and crossed his arms. _Unown, huh? Sounds like fun. But if I were you, I'd ditch that one. _He jabbed a claw in the direction of Lana. _Even if she is a dark type, she won't be of much use. She only thinks about herself. _

Lana raised her head and growled. _You think you're so high and mighty? You're no angel yourself. _

_Anyway, _Ganza continued, _You'd be better off finding someone who would actually be useful. She'd chicken out and run away at the last second to save her own skin. _

_I'm no coward!_ Lana barked, baring her teeth menacingly. _And I've never run away from anything! _

_That's exactly what you're doing now, sweetie, _Ganza retorted.

_You're the one who's saying I'm going to run away! I haven't done anything yet! _

Enchantor sighed and the other three watched anxiously.

"Okay," I said, trying to stop further argument. "Uh, Ganza, Enchanter? Can I ask you guys to spar for us to show these guys what a battle looks like?" I had a feeling the younger ones didn't even know what a real battle was.

The two nodded and faced each other.

They each lunged forwards. Enchanter used the blade on his head to parry Ganza's claws. He whipped his head around and sent out Razor Wind. Ganza was shoved backwards, but he leapt forwards again and used Crush Claw. Enchanter sprang lightly to the side. They were evenly matched and went at it for about a minute before they stopped.

Ammy, Sibo, and Ringo watched in awe. This must have seemed very impressive to them. It was a fairly impressive display, but I was pretty certain that my Pokémon could beat them. Still, their skill was promising.

"Okay. So, we're starting for the Solaceon Ruins today, and we're training on the way. I'll help in whatever way I can, but all of us need to put in 100%, okay?" It was the three younger Pokémon that nodded. "We'll switch off between traveling and practicing, and maybe do both at the same time. But we got to be careful not to get worn out. If you get too tired, get some rest. It will be hard at first, but before you know it, you'll all be great."

I put the three younger Pokémon to work on target practice and went to give Ganza and Enchanter some pointers.

Then I took a deep breath and walked towards to Lana.

She narrowed her eyes at me as I approached. She looked away as I knelt beside her.

_Listen, _I said. _I understand that you hate humans, and I understand that there's probably a very good reason for that. I know there's people out there who do bad things, but most people aren't like that. I'd like it if we knew each other a little better before you decide if you hate me or not. _

Before she could respond, I stood up and walked away. I gave some more pointers to the younger Pokémon and then pulled Sibo to the side and asked Ganza to do an easy spar with her. Sibo was sent flying before five seconds had passed. I groaned and shook my head. This was going to take a lot of work.

"Ganza, please, go easy on her. Sibo, don't just stand there. When you see him coming at you, get out of the way. Here. Move like this and dodge around to this side here. Yeah. Keep working on it.

I noticed that Enchanter had engaged Lana in a small practice battle also. I'd have to ask him how he got Lana to cooperate.

I walked around, observing the Pokémon and only realized a few minutes later that I was absently humming "I'll Make a Man Out of You."

…

When the little ones got tired of training, we ate a few more berries and then started the long hike to the Solaceon Ruins. I realized immediately that with a Teddiursa and Mareep, the pace would be infuriatingly slow. And Zangoose don't have the longest legs either. This might help build their stamina, at least. And if we had to, we could carry the slower ones. I also realized that I was very spoiled. I was so used to riding Polaris (and flying) that walking for long distances seemed rather daunting. Guess who was gonna be in good shape when she got home?

We stopped that evening, though we didn't cover as much ground as I would have liked. I didn't ask Enchanter how long it would take to get there.

Enchanter, Ganza and I all broke up and each took one of the smaller Pokémon. Lana grudgingly joined Enchanter and Ammy. I took Ringo.

"Okay," I said, doing a couple stretches to limber myself up. "We're going to pretend to attack each other, right? So, you come at me and try to hit me."

Ringo nodded, looking determined. I stood three feet away from him, feeling very big compared to all of my companions.

Ringo let out what he clearly thought was a fierce battle cry and came at me, cocking his arm back to strike. I dodged to the side and he ran past me before stopping to look back.

"Come on! Keep coming!" So he turned and came at me again. I continued dodging around him or jumping over him.

_This isn't fair! _Ringo wailed after a few minutes of this. _You're bigger and faster than me! _

"And before you know it, _you'll_ be bigger and faster than _me_. But you'll get faster before you get bigger, so keep practicing. Soon enough, I won't be able to get away from you. Okay. How about if I try chasing you?" I growled and jumped towards him. Ringo squealed and dashed away. Yeah, he was better at running than chasing.

We finally stopped for dinner.

"Is there anything else to eat around here besides berries?" I asked.

Enchanter stood up. _I can find something. _And in a blur of white, he was gone. He returned a few minutes later with a large leaf folded up into a pouch. He deposited the leaf and several nuts and apples rolled out.

I nodded, examining the food. "I think a fire would be great for this." I glanced over at Lana, but she yawned widely, signifying that she wasn't about to help.

"Anyway," I continued, "will you guys help me gather sticks and branches?"

Everyone but Lana pitched in. Ganza would have waited behind too, but Enchanter talked him into helping.

_Why don't you light this for us? _Ganza suggested after we'd all returned. I listened as I started building up a pile of twigs. I wasn't the most skilled at starting a fire without matches, but I might be able to figure out something even without Lana's cooperation.

Lana snorted. _I don't want a fire. _

Ganza took a step towards her. _Fine. If you don't want to eat, why don't we battle instead? _

Without another word, he sprang at her, lashing out with his claws. Lana dodged to the side, snarling angrily. Enchanter sighed and shook his head as the others watched, wide-eyed.

Lana lunged in, snapping her jaws shut, but missed as Ganza dodged. He swung his arm, catching Lana a blow to the cheek. She tumbled to the side and staggered to her feet, growling furiously. She lunged again, but Ganza jumped up and shoved her into the ground. He pinned her there where she wriggled and snarled uselessly.

"Come on, Ganza," I said, alarmed. "You don't need to bully her."

He snorted. _She keeps saying she's as strong as we are. I'm testing her. _

"You're going too far."

_Yes, _Enchanter agreed. _Don't be so rough. _

Enchanter seemed to be the only one who could keep those two in check. Ganza shrugged and let Lana up. She leapt to her feet and opened her mouth, using Ember. Ganza easily sidestepped and held an arm out in front of the flames. A moment later, I realized why. He'd held a bundle of small twigs up to Lana's Ember. They caught on fire and flickered brightly.

Ganza stepped over to the little tent of branches and lit it on fire. So, that was his plan all along. I covered my smile.

_You!_ Lana snarled. She sprang towards the fire, ready to knock it over and put it out. Without thinking, I pushed myself forwards and caught her.

_Let go of me! _Lana barked. She turned her head and snapped at my arm. I quickly jerked the targeted wrist back, pushing out with my other arm to knock her over.

She stood up and faced me, bristling. I stared at her.

"You know," I said rather coldly, "the name Lana doesn't suit you." I turned back to Ganza. "Please don't pick on her anymore."

Ganza shrugged. _If she doesn't run away, sure. _

Lana walked away and sat beneath a tree, far away from the small, flickering fire.

Things remained quiet for a few minutes as I tended the fire and speared an apple on a twig so I could roast it. I put a couple of the nuts near the coals. Eventually Ammy and Ringo started the conversation back up so that the mood lightened again. I asked Enchanter to bring food to Lana, because I had a hunch she wouldn't eat it if any of us brought it to her. At least she did eat some of it, though she didn't look at us for the rest of the evening.

_Cara, _Ammy asked when all of us were warm and full, _will you tell us about where you come from? _

I laughed. "Wow. Where to start? Hmm. Let's see. How about the time I met Mewtwo? I think that's one of my favorite stories. It's a long one too, if you go all the way back to the beginning when Team Rocket tried to capture Mew."

I told them about how I tried to help Mew escape from Team Rocket. A few years later, she sent me a dream about the clone that Team Rocket had succeeded in making. I'd gone to search for Mewtwo, knowing how dangerous he could be if he remained in Giovanni's hands. But even so it was a long time before I confronted Mewtwo on New Island. I'd nearly lost my life in the ensuing battles.

"It was after that," I concluded, "That Mewtwo finally let me speak with him. I offered him a place to stay on Avalon, but he decided to travel and see the world. Even so, he came back afterwards and often spends time on Avalon." Because of what Mewtwo had gone through, he and was one of the Pokémon I cared most about. I was glad that he could finally enjoy himself. I smiled as I thought of little Twilight, the young Mewtwo who had a better start at life than his father. I missed Twilight every time I left Avalon.

I heaved a deep sigh. Even though I spent so much time away from Avalon, I wanted to go home. And it was more than just the lack of blankets, clean clothes, and real food.

_Cara, _Ammy asked tentatively. _When you go back to Avalon, will you bring us? _

I smiled. "Sure. I'd like that."


	9. Into the Vortex

So, I didn't update last week because I really underestimated the length of this chapter. So, to make it up to you… you get a really long chapter.

It's kinda an overly elaborate transition to the next part of the story. I hope you all like what's coming next!

Ammy-Mareep, Sibo-Natu, Ringo-Teddiursa, Lana-Houndour, Enchanter-Absol, Ganza-Zangoose / Polaris-Ponyta, Twilight-Mewtwo

* * *

>Into the Vortex<p>Twilight opened his eyes. "Why can't I do it," he exclaimed, jumping to his feet in frustration. "Cara makes it look so easy!"<p>

Polaris lowered her head so that her face was next to the young Mewtwo's. _It took Cara a while to learn how to use telepathy to talk to us. She needed someone to teach her how it worked. You're still young, and you haven't had time to learn yet. _

"Huh," Twilight muttered, scuffing at the ground with his foot. "All the stuff I'm learning around here, and none of it's useful."

_All of us are frustrated that we can't find Cara, _Polaris said soothingly. Even so, she raised her head gazed out across Avalon. _Any number of things could have happened to her to keep her from replying. Ben and Lily are out these searching right now. They'll find her. _

"You can say that,," Twilight said, shaking his head furiously, "but everyone's thinking the same thing! What happened to her? She could be hurt or…" Tears started to gather in his eyes. "And Mom doesn't know where to look, and I can't even reach Dad because I can't use telepathy over long distances, and he's the one person who might be able to find her!"

Polaris reached down to nuzzle his cheek and brush some of the tears away with her nose.

_Listen to me. Close your eyes. _

Twilight sobbed, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and then closed his eyes.

_Think of Cara. She has a connection with all of us. _

Twilight nodded, tears silently slipping down his cheeks.

_That connection is still there. It's still strong. Which means she's okay. Even if she can't contact us, she's somewhere safe. And I'm sure she's doing whatever she can to get home. You're very talented, and I'm sure if you keep trying, you'll be able to reach Cara. _

* * *

><p>"Twilight," I said, stopping suddenly. Ammy plowed into me, nearly knocking me over. She'd evolved into a Flaaffy this morning, much to the astonishment of Sibo and Ringo.<p>

"Sorry," I said, quickly stepping out of the course of the obstacle course I had been running with my companions. Ringo charged past, jumping over one of the hurdles and scrambling up a ladder of vines.

_What happens at twilight? _Ammy asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. I'll catch up with you in a minute."

I was certain that I'd heard Twilight's voice. I leaned against a tree, closed my eyes, and reached out. Yes, it felt like something was there, but I couldn't quite get a grip on it. It was so infuriating knowing one of my friends was so close, but I couldn't contact him! I hesitated, and then sent a pulse of energy towards him. For a minute, I thought it had worked. But then the presence faded.

I sighed and slid to the ground. I heard a rustling sound beside me and looked up to see Enchanter.

_Are you feeling well? _He inquired.

I nodded. "Yeah. Just, for a minute there, I thought I might be able to contact one of my friends."

_You feel vulnerable without your usual Pokémon with you,_ Enchanter said. It wasn't a question.

_It's not that I don't trust you, _I said, slipping into telepathy so we were less likely to be overheard. _And everyone is getting stronger. _

_I do feel my speed and stamina increasing. You know what to do to bring out a Pokémon's strength. _

I snorted. _I kinda feel like I'm doing a really sucky job. Somehow I feel like a complete beginner. Whenever I go anywhere anymore, I always have at least one really reliable Pokémon on my team. I haven't had a completely beginner team since I started training Pokémon six years ago. And then I had Ben to work with me, and supplies and Pokémon Centers and everything. _

_Under these circumstances it's natural to be uneasy. _

_Huh. That's not all of it either. I know my friends are probably worried sick. I've never _not_ contacted them if I we got separated. Plus Lana hates me. The only reason she's doing this obstacle course is so she can spar with you later. And I feel like a real jerk-face for dragging all of you guys with me as my bodyguards. _

_There's only one Pokémon that you're dragging along. All the rest of us are here because we want to be. _

I took a deep breath, suddenly feeling like the biggest jerk/idiot ever, and then doubly so for even thinking that. I hated it when I felt sorry for myself. I mean, seriously. Things could be so much worse. I _do_ have these six awesome Pokémon here to help me, even if one isn't in it for me. And I do have awesome friends that I know are trying to find me.

I exhaled, trying to calm myself. "I think I'd feel better if Lana didn't hate me. It may sound stupid and obvious, but I don't like being hated. I can think of a couple people that hate me, like Giovanni, but I hate him too so I feel successful that he hates me. But even if I'm nice to Lana, she probably won't end up liking me."

_If it helps, she respects you, _Enchanter said.

"Heh," I said in a half laugh. "I'm such a loser sometimes."

_Everyone's a loser occasionally. _

* * *

><p>It didn't take me long to start feeling better. Sometimes I just want to be left alone and be miserable, but I'm pretty fast about getting out of it (after which I promptly feel stupid for being mopey and obnoxious).<p>

Sibo evolved on the afternoon of the 3rd day. Actually, Lana seemed to be beyond her evolution level. But that was her business if she chose to stay a Houndour. I certainly wasn't going to press her to evolve.

Practice battles were getting much more interesting. Ammy, Lana, and Sibo could all hold their own against Enchanter and Ganza now.

But Ringo's progress seemed to have stopped.

On the fourth morning, I watched as Lana and Ringo sparred. Ringo was only able to get in a couple attacks. He'd improved some the first two days, but then he sort of stopped getting stronger. It worried me.

Lana kept dodging his attacks, and finally she dashed in and sent Ringo flying. He landed in a furry heap and pushed himself partly up, grimacing.

"Are you okay?" I asked, walking over to him.

_I'm fine, _he said bitterly.

"I meant are you feeling okay. Something's bothering you."

Ringo pushed himself to his feet and looked up at me, frustrated and even a bit angry. I was startled. He'd been very good-natured before.

_Everyone's so much stronger than me! Ammy and Sibo evolved already and now they're so good! But I can't beat anyone and I can't even evolve! I don't like this battling. I want to go home! _

"Wait, Ringo! You'll-" but before I could get in another word, Ringo turned and rushed off into the forest.

Lana turned and glared at me. _Nice work. What, it didn't occur to you to tell him how he evolves at a later level than everyone? _She turned and bounded off after him.

I looked over to see the others watching me.

"Damn," I hissed, turning and running after Ringo and Lana. Ringo wasn't fast. He couldn't get far. Except he'd gone through a little tunnel through a briar patch and I lost a lot of time trying to get around it. And I lost a lot more time trying to pick up his trail.

I finally caught up to them. Ringo was sitting on a fallen branch and Lana was next to him. It seemed she had just convinced him to stop and sit for a moment.

"Ringo," I panted, dropping to my knees beside him. "Please don't be angry! I know it's taking a while, but Teddiursa evolve at a later level. You're really close to evolving! Just a few more levels and then you'll be bigger than everyone else here!"

Ringo pouted and turned his head away. Lana said something to him, but she didn't let me hear. Ringo shook his head.

_Then just go home, _Lana said. _Just keep heading back in the direction we came from and you'll get there. Assuming you don't get lost or attacked. _

"Do you really want to leave?" I asked sadly.

_It's not like I'm gonna be any help. _

"That's not true! When you evolve…"

_You keep saying when I evolve! But I haven't evolved yet! I'm useless right now! _

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I hadn't been thinking that, had I?

"No, Ringo, listen!"

_Hush! _Ammy barked.

"I'm not going to let him walk away with the wrong idea!" I retorted.

_Be quiet! _She hissed. And I realized that she was looking off into the forest. Something had caught her attention. I fell silent. Lana tilted her head, trying to hear something. I listened too, but couldn't hear it. For a minute, we were very still. Then I heard a rustling in the bushes near us. Just as I turned my head to look, something came bursting out of the leaves and charged towards us.

I shouted in alarm and jumped to my feet, moving out of the way of the hurtling object. Lana bounded out of the way too and Ringo threw himself to the side.

The Pokémon skidded to a halt and turned around. It was a Cranidos. He eyed us and scraped his foot along the ground, ready to charge. He glanced between each of us, trying to pick a target. His eyes fell on Ringo and he lowered his head.

_Aaaahhhhhh! _Ringo wailed.

As Cranidos charged, I sprinted over and scooped Ringo up. I did a weird hop-step and narrowly avoided the living cannonball. I scrambled over to a tree and jumped into a low fork in the branches. I dumped Ringo on a branch and started to vault up myself. But the tree gave a mighty lurch as Cranidos tackled it. My foot slipped and I managed to do an awkward roll to ease the impact. I flipped up to a crouching position and tried to locate our foe.

My eyes fell on Lana, who skidded to a halt near the bushes and turned to look back at me. _What are you doing! Move! _

I glanced over in time to see Cranidos coming right at me. And with a blindingly painful impact, Cranidos collided with my hipbone.

"Aaaaauuuhhhhhhh!" I cried, rolling over onto my back, clapping my hand to my side, which of course made it hurt more.

I lay there for a couple seconds, grimacing in pain. Then I forced myself to roll onto my hands and knee so I could at least try to evade the next maneuver. I swore as I saw Cranidos coming at me again. I shoved myself to the side and rolled onto my back, ready to kick out in self-defense.

Then Lana leapt out of nowhere and tackled Cranidos to the ground. Cranidos kicked out and knocked Lana off of him. Lana landed on her feet, but Cranidos had also stood up.

"Jump into those vines!" I called without thinking.

And amazingly, Lana followed my command, leaping into a shallow tangle of vines. As Cranidos charged at her, the vines caught his feet and he crashed to the ground.

Lana jumped forwards and closed her jaws around his leg. She lifted Cranidos off of the ground and threw him, but Cranidos landed on his feet.

'Make some smoke!" I shouted.

Lana shot me an angry glare, but the Cranidos took her moment of distraction as an opportunity to charge. Lana yelped as Cranidos connected with her side and sent her tumbling into the vines. She staggered to her feet and shook her head. She narrowly managed to dodge Cranidos as he jumped in and kicked at her. Lana snarled and lunged again, pinning him to the ground.

Then both of the froze. Lana had started to glow. Startled, Lana lost her concentration and Cranidos managed to wriggle free. But now it was a Houndoom that Cranidos had to fight.

I grinned. "Awesome, Lana!"

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye.

"Make a smokescreen!" I repeated.

Lana hesitated, then opened her mouth and let out a stream of smoke. Cranidos squined, trying to see through the thick black cloud. Lana quietly shifted to the side. But her paw caught on a twig and Cranidos's head snapped around. He lowered his head and charged. But Lana smirked. At the last possible second, she bounded out of the way and Cranidos crashed headfirst into the tree Lana had been standing in front of.

Ringo quickly jumped out from his hiding place and threw a net of vines over Cranidos. Fortunately our foe was too dazed to try to escape.

"You guys are awesome," I said, using a tree branch to pull myself into a standing position. I winced and balanced my weight on one leg. I hesitated, then reached down and touched my hip. It hurt like hell, but it didn't seem like it was broken. I had probably bruised the bone though. This would be hurting me for a long time to come. I'd fallen on my hip before. Even weeks after, it still hurt if you poked it just the wrong way.

_Are you okay? _Ringo asked, concerned.

I nodded. "More or less. But I think our progress is going to be really slow now. No one here's big enough to carry me. I'll only be able to limp along. Listen, Ringo, I'm sorry. I don't think I explained myself very well before. I'm sure you'll evolve into a big strong Ursaring. That's probably why your parents named you Ringo. But you don't need to evolve to be helpful. One of my very best Pokémon isn't fully evolved. She's a Ponyta."

Ringo nodded. _I do want to evolve though. I think… I think I am getting pretty close. _

_You might as well hurry it up then, _Lana said. _When you evolve, you'll be big enough to carry this dead weight. _She gestured to me.

I snorted. "Thanks for that."

_Well you definitely are now, if you weren't before. _

"Thanks, Lana. For trying to protect us, I mean."

Lana looked at me and shrugged. _Come on. _

"Huh?"

_You can't walk right now, can you? You can lean on my back. _

I smiled and hobbled over to Lana. The three of us headed slowly back to our friends. Enchanter met along the way.

_You missed the excitement, _Lana said, smirking. _Aren't you supposed to be able to sense disaster? _

_You're hurt, _Enchanter noted, seeing me lean against Lana.

_She got hit by a Cranidos! _Ringo exclaimed.

_This complicates things, _Enchanter said, offering me his back as well. We continued back towards the others.

_I'm gonna evolve so I can carry her! _Ringo announced.

"Thanks" I said, smiling at him. He grinned.

* * *

><p>We didn't travel anymore that day. We rested and trained. And it paid off. The next morning, Ringo evolved too. We were able to continue on while Ringo carried me most of the way on his shaggy back. It kinda sucks traveling like that for two days. Although I was able to walk more on the second day.<p>

That evening, Enchanter stopped and turned to us.

_We're almost there, _he announced.

_That's good, _Ganza said. _I don't like walking a lot. I have short legs. _

_Me too, _Ammy sighed.

_Do you suppose we're ready to go after the Unown? _Sibo asked.

_Ready as we'll ever be, _Ganza said, flexing his claws.

I didn't agree with that, but I didn't say anything.

_I haven't evolved all the way yet, _Ammy said nervously.

"You'll do fine," I assured her. Although if our first attempt to confront the Unown failed, I'd travel the rest of the way to Solaceon City to call Ben and get some stronger Pokémon. That could easily take a few more days.

Ringo lifted me up onto his shoulder and we kept walking. And at long last, the trees parted and we came to the ruins.

The ruins were built into a large hill. We could see dark tunnels leading inside. Around the hill, there was a maze of crumbling walls overgrown with bushes and vines. We walked through the remnants of the ancient city. It always felt strange walking through long-abandoned places. Like when we'd been in the Old Chateau (though it was kinda creepy in there so I didn't really get a chance to appreciate it). I could almost feel what the place used to be like when people had lived here.

_What are these? _Ringo asked.

"This is all that's left of a city," I explained. "I guess you've never seen buildings before though, have you?"

Ringo, Ammy, and Sibo all shook their heads.

I felt a sort of prickling in the back of my mind. I quickly reached out and felt a familiar presence, though very faint. For a moment, it grew stronger, and then it faded away again. I cursed silently to myself. Twilight had tried to contact me again.

We made it to the base of the hill and looked in through one of the tunnels. It was sort of creepy how the tunnel faded into complete blackness.

"Ammy, we'll need you to light the way," I said. She nodded and set her tail orb aglow.

Ringo set me down (so I wouldn't bash my head on the ceiling). I glanced around at my companions. Then I turned and stepped into the tunnel.

It was cold and our footsteps echoed eerily. Especially mine.

_Cara, _Sibo said.

"Hm?"

_I see another human in the future. _

"A boy with short, brown hair?"

_Yes. _

"That's Ben."

_He's here at the cave with another Pokémon. It's smaller than me, and purple with a long tail. _

"Twilight!" I exclaimed, surprised.

_I see us meeting with them… but you're not there. _

I was silent for a moment. "I'm sure there could be plenty of reasons for that. Maybe we get separated or something."

_I also sense a very powerful force inside here, _Enchanter said. _I've never sensed anything like this coming from Unown. And I feel a sense of foreboding. _There was a tense pause where we all kept walking, me limping ahead of the others with Ammy at my side to light the way.

"Stay close," I said at last.

We walked down the tunnel until it came to a fork. Enchanter moved in front of me and glanced down each of the pathways. He chose one and continued walking. We wound our way deeper inside. The fact that we didn't run into any Unown only seemed to make things even creepier. It was so quiet and empty.

I stopped walking very suddenly and Ringo crashed into me. He managed to catch me before I fell over.

_What is it? _Enchanter asked.

I stood very still. "Yes!" I exclaimed, my shout echoing through the tunnel. "Quick! This way!"

I hobbled down the tunnel as fast as I could until we came to a room with several openings. I chose one and hurried along, my friends following, rather confused. I turned a corner and found that my path was blocked. It had caved in, probably long ago.

"Damn," I hissed. I started to turn back, but paused. I slowly walked up to the rubble and pulled myself up to a gap in the rock. I peered through, but saw only darkness. I hesitated, and then shouted, "Heyy!"

The ruins rang, doubling my call over and over again.

_What are you doing! _Ganza exclaimed. But I didn't move. I listened intently.

The seconds ticked past, and then I heard something. A distant shout. A voice that I recognized. I immediately felt a weight lift from my heart and I grinned broadly. It turned back to my friends.

"They're here! They came!"

_Who? _They chorused.

"Ben and Twilight! Twilight must have saw where we were because he tried to contact me outside the ruins!"

We heard sounds from behind the rubble and I peered through the gap.

It took me a minute to piece together what I was seeing beyond the flickering blue light: Twilight half hopping, half floating towards me, Ben running along behind him. The blue light was coming from Twilight's arm, which was flickering with his psychic powers.

"Twilight! Ben!"

Twilight jumped up to the rubble and tried to reach through the hole, half laughing, half crying. We managed to get our arms through the small opening.

"Cara, Cara! You're alive! You're here! We were so worried!"

Ben stepped up behind him, grinning. "You sure know how to scare the hell out of all of us, you know."

"I know, I know! I'm so sorry! Something blocked my telepathy! I couldn't call you!"

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"Uh, mostly. My leg's kinda being lame though."

"What did you do?" Ben asked.

"We can catch up on all this later. We need to go deeper into the ruins."

"Why do you need to go deeper?" Ben asked, alarmed.

"We found you, so we can go home," Twilight said.

"We think the Unown did something to block my telepathy. I need to fix it before I go back. I have some Pokémon here who are going to help me."

"Can we break through the rubble?" Twilight asked.

Ben shook his head. "No, that could be dangerous. This tunnel here could collapse even more. And no offense, but your psychic powers probably aren't strong enough to help all of us if it does."

Twilight dropped his head.

_I can instruct your smaller friend on where to go, _Sibo said.

I nodded. "Okay. Xatu here will give you directions, okay Twilight?"

Twilight looked very worried, but he nodded. "Okay. We'll meet you further in."

"Wait, Cara," Ben called. I paused and peered at him through the dim light. "I wanted to let you know that Emily and her grandfather made it safely."

I smiled. "That's good to know. Thanks."

I withdrew from the blocked tunnel and slowly turned back to the wild Pokémon. I knew Twilight was still watching me, but I didn't look back. As glad as I was to see the two of them, I suddenly felt very worried. Twilight didn't have a very good grip on his psychic powers yet. He was just a baby, after all. He and Ben could be in danger from the Unown. I tried to push the thought away as we wound deeper into the ruins.

It felt like it took forever, with the endless dark tunnels and chambers, one after another. I took a couple more steps and slowly came to a halt, looking up, my mouth hanging open.

We'd emerged into a massive cavern. It was impossible to tell just how large it was because Ammy's light didn't reach very far. But across the cavern, maybe 100 feet away, there was something bright floating above the cavern floor. I couldn't tell what it was. It didn't look like anything I recognized. I took a step towards it, and then realized that my Pokémon companions were still huddled by the tunnel where we'd emerged.

"Come on," I urged.

Ganza and Enchanter followed me, and the others came after.

_What is that? _Ringo asked.

I shook my head.

_Cara, _Enchanter said softly. _Do you remember what I said about the barrier between dimensions? _

I looked down at him and then back up at the glowing thing ahead of us. _Are you saying… _

Enchanter shrugged.

I stopped walking and stared at the thing. I still couldn't quite figure out what it was.

We all stood there in the cold, dark cavern, watching the glowing object. That was when we heard it. The distant squeaking and chattering. My first instinct was to run, but I forced myself to stand still. After all, the Unown were the reason we had come here in the first place.

"Be ready, everyone. We don't want to attack them if we don't need to." Despite all the training we'd done, I really hoped that we wouldn't need to fight. The Unown were not something I wanted to battle against. Their powers were too far beyond anything I felt comfortable confronting.

The swarm of black appeared out of the darkness and flooded around us. All of us flinched and huddled together, surrounded by the tornado of white eyes staring unblinkingly at us.

I swallowed and then stepped forwards. "Listen," I called. "I need to talk to you!"

The reply came from all sides in dozens of voices. _No. Go away. Leave now. _

"I can't! We came all this way and I need to speak with you!"

_You have to leave! _

I only had an instant to prepare.

_Brace yourselves! _I called telepathically.

I raised an arm to protect my head as the Unown rushed us. I felt them battering at me from all sides. One of them hit my hip and I cried out in pain, dropping to my knees. Ringo reached forwards and put one of his arms in front of me as a shield.

I felt a blast of heat as Lana opened her mouth and let loose a jet of fire. The rest of the Pokémon let out a volley of attacks, and miraculously, the Unown fell back. They floated in front of us, milling about as though deciding what to do.

I slowly pushed myself to my feet, leaning against Ringo's arm.

_You don't need to fight, _The Unown chorused. _Just leave. _

"I can't leave!" I shouted. "At least listen to me!"

There was silence.

_Very well, _the Unown said.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and then started. "When we were at the Old Chateau, you dragged me away and dropped me in the woods."

_If you came here for an apology, then you have it. But you can't stay here. _

"I get it. Let me finish, and we'll leave. When I landed, I couldn't contact my friends. Usually I can use telepathy to call them. But I couldn't reach them. I want you to take off whatever you did to my mind so I can use my telepathy normally again."

_There is a lot of activity in the other dimensions right now. We were in the Old Chateau to check on Giratina. And right now another of the powerful Pokémon is here as well. The reason your telepathy is blocked is because we currently have a barrier over the woods. We're trying to keep an eye on things because of Palkia. The barrier might be what's interfering with your telepathy. But we'll check to see if any of it is attached to your mind. Then you have to leave. Palkia will be arriving any minute to return to another dimension. It will be very dangerous. _I felt the Unown touching my mind, and flinched. But I didn't do anything to interfere. _Your mind is fine now. Please leave. _

"Thank you," I said. We're going to go out a different tunnel though, because we have to meet up with my friends."

_Ben and Twilight had to take a longer route, _Sibo explained. _But I think they're almost here. I'll show you where to go. _

Sibo started to lead us out of the chamber, but before we'd gone very far, the ground beneath us rumbled. All of us stopped and braced ourselves. Then a high, loud bellow cut the air, making the walls shake and dust and gravel shower down on us. Ringo shielded us and Ganza knocked away the larger pieces of rock.

The Unown chattered in alarm and scattered.

I turned around to see something emerge out of the darkness and floy out into the center of the cave, towards the unidentifiable glowing thing. The thing suddenly expanded, and then I saw what it was.

It was a hole. A great jagged rip right through the air. And through it I could see strange, swirling colors.

I took a step backwards and then realized that the six Pokémon had passed me. They hadn't noticed that I'd stopped. Enchanter whirled around to face me.

_What are you doing? We have to get out of here! _

I nodded and took a limping step towards him. But then a fierce rushing sound filled the cavern and I glanced behind me. The doorway through dimensions had had created a sort of suction! I started jog-limping towards the others, and then the suction hit me. I stopped in order to brace myself. It felt like a strong wind. Powerful, yes, but I could fight against it.

I took another step and looked up. Ringo was helping to brace the other Pokémon since they were all smaller than me. Small enough that the wind might actually grab them. And I noticed with concern that it seemed to be getting stronger.

I glanced beyond the wild Pokémon to the tunnel we were trying to reach. And there they were. Ben and Twilight. The two of them were desperately clinging to the wall.

I'd probably have to hit the deck and crawl forwards. I couldn't stand this wind much longer. I had to get out of here. Something struck my back, and I shouted, flailing wildly as my feet skidded on the floor. Something was pushing me forwards, away from the doorway. Startled, I looked back and saw a cushion of Unown behind me.

I drew even with the wild Pokémon and the Unown formed a wall. They gathered up Ringo and the others. The abrupt appearance of the Unown startled my companions. Lana reached out and snapped at the Unown, thinking they were attacking again. The Unown automatically dodged. And I watched in horror as the wind caught Lana and dragged her off of her feet. She flailed wildly and yelped in fear.

This was no time for hesitation. I braced my feet against them and launched myself towards Lana. I immediately realized my mistake. The wind had become much stronger since the Unown caught me. My feet never touched the ground. Both Lana and I were getting sucked straight for the rip in the air. I saw, though I didn't really notice, Palkia flying towards the portal and slide through it. I managed to grab Lana around the middle. I twisted myself around oddly and got my good leg under her. Then I kicked out and sent Lana flying towards the Unown. And rushed forwards in time to catch here. But they weren't close enough to catch me.

Terror suddenly exploded inside me. The Unown hadn't caught me, and there was nothing to keep me from getting sucked into that dimension. I kicked out and tried to reach the cavern floor, but was completely helpless, stranded in mid-air. I could only watch as the torn edges of the doorway surrounded me and swallowed me. I could only see the Solaceon Ruins through a window that was rapidly shrinking.

Without thinking, I opened my mouth and desperately shouted, "_Mewtwo!" _

My momentum carried my forwards, and I struck something solid. I latched onto it, locking my arms around the thing and hooking a leg over it. It took me several seconds to realize that the "thing" was Palkia's arm. He turned his head and stared at me as though I were some strange bug that had landed on him.

"Please," I fairly sobbed, "Take me back!"

I slowly looked around and felt incredibly dizzy. We were floating in an area reminiscent of outer space, except our surroundings were a strange swirl of turquoise and fuchsia colors.

Palkia stared at me, swishing his tail back and forth. _How did you get here? _

I flinched. His voice was almost deafeningly loud. "I got sucked into the vortex," I said in a hoarse squeak.

_So, you can understand me. Interesting. I thought the Unown were guarding my cave. They always do so when I come here. _

I could barely organize my words and I was shivering violently. "T-they _were_ g-guarding it. They told us to leave, but I wouldn't listen. I needed to ask them something."

Palkia let out a deep sigh. _I suppose I should put you back. It might take a few minutes to open the doorway again. This place is very dangerous right now, so I need to get you out of here. _

"Why's it d-dangerous?"

Palkia gestured beneath us. I squinted to the strange whirling colors beneath us and saw several green and black whirlpools. There were about 20 of them arranged in a ring.

_This is a dimensional rift, _Palkia explained. _A crossing between realms. Each of those vortexes leads to a different world. And they've been very unstable recently. That's why the suction of the doorway was strong enough to pull you in. I'm trying to figure out how to fix it. It's strong enough that it's been upsetting Giratina and Dialga as well. _

Hence Enchanter mentioning the disturbances between dimensions.

"What's wrong with the whirlpools?"

_I need to concentrate to reopen this gate. Don't distract me. _

"Okay," I said meekly.

For a minute, I was silent. The swirling colors that surrounded us were giving me a headache. I shut my eyes and tightened my grip around Palkia's arm. But the headache didn't go away. I suppressed a groan as my head started to throb.

No… that's wasn't right. It wasn't just my head. I felt a throbbing everywhere. I opened my eyes and glanced around. There seemed to be a slight distortion around us- a ripple running through the dimension, timed along with every throb, one pulse to every two beats of my heart.

I glanced up at Palkia, but he didn't seem to have noticed. Maybe this was usual around here.

Except… it felt like it was getting stronger. I stared at the ripples, trying to find their origin. It took me a while to realize that they seemed to be coming from the vortexes. Or one of them, at least.

I glanced back up at Palkia, wondering if I should say something. But he was concentrating on my doorway.

The space around the whirlpools contracted and then expanded again, and the next ripple came towards us. Except this shockwave was much, much bigger.

I let out a yell and Palkia turned to scold me. But then the shockwave hit us.

Palkia let out a startled bellow and tumbled head-over-heels. I felt myself wrenched free from his arm and then I was falling, plunging into the abyss. I clenched my teeth but fought to keep my eyes open. I tried to face Palkia to call for help. That was when I saw that I wasn't falling straight down. I was falling at a strange angle. Had my momentum been that strong?

Then with a lurching sensation, I saw that I was being pulled towards the vortexes.

Palkia caught sight of me and dove down to catch me.

But then the second shockwave came. It knocked the wind out of me and blasted me away, and Palkia was blasted backwards again.

Stunned and limp, I blearily opened my eyes. What I saw immediately brought me back to my senses. The nearest whirlpool was only yards away. I faced away from it and made desperate swimming motions, but it was pointless. The current had me in its grip.

Completely helpless, I was jerked around in a circle, and then another, as the whirlpool caught me and held me, no more than an ant getting sucked down a drain.

I started spinning faster as I sank further into the vortex. It was sickening and I was on the verge of passing out.

Then for a moment, it stopped. And in that half second, I thought that it was over.

I crashed into something and bounced off, and then I was floating. Or falling. And consciousness slipped away as I succumbed to blackness.


	10. Awake in Emptiness

The Pikachu's name was going to be temporary, but now I can't think of anything else to use…

This semester is going to be realllly evil for me. I'll probably only be able to post every other week. Sigh. And just as I'm getting to the fun part.

Awake in Emptiness

_It's so dark, _

_A rhythmic rushing sound. What is it? _

_Mmm. I feel comfortable. I'm lying on something warm and soft. I don't want to move. _

_But… why do I feel like something's wrong? Something's missing. But what? _

_Except it's so nice and arm. I don't want to move. Or think. _

…

_What's that sound? Someone… calling? _

"Hey!"

_It's so hard to focus. _

"Are you okay?"

_Maybe I should be trying to listen. _

Something touches my shoulder. Someone's shaking me.

"Please, wake up! Are you all right?"

Opening my eyes seems to take all my effort. I find that I'm laying on my stomach with my head tilted to the side. I'm staring at sand, and I can hear waves rushing behind me. I open my eyes further and see a pair of yellow feet beside me. I tilt my head up and see a Pikachu leaning over me, looking concerned.

Relief floods his face as he sees me move.

"Ah, I was afraid you might be dead!" he gasped. "What happened? Are you all right?"

I flinched and managed to get my arms under me. I pushed myself up to my knees. I felt incredibly awkward. Even propped on my knees, I felt like I was about to tip over.

"I think I'm all right," I said slowly.

I looked over at the Pikachu. He had dark blue eyes and the tip of his tail is sort of frayed out in a funny tuft of fur. He was leaning forward as if to catch me if I fell. But that's odd. How could a Pikachu catch me? I'm a whole lot bigger than him.

Except… How can that be? I'm sitting on my knees, but I'm still just even with Pikachu.

Perplexed, I look down.

"Aah!" I shouted, losing my balance and tipping forwards. My face planted straight down in the sand because I wasn't fast enough to catch myself with my stubby arms.

The Pikachu grabbed my arm and helped pull me up. This time I manage to get my feet around in front of me so I was sitting normally.

Shaking, afraid what I might see, I turned my head to look behind me. My heart sinked as I saw an orange tail with a little flame glowing at the tip.

"You-you've gotta be kidding me," I gasped, raising my small clawed hands to touch my face. "A Charmander? But I'm a human!"

"What?" Pikachu said, looking rather alarmed. "A human?"

Rather panicked now, I turn to Pikachu. "I can't be a Charmander! I'm a human! How can I be a Pokémon?"

Pikachu took a step backwards. "Are you serious? A human? But, uh, you look like a Charmander."

I looked down at my hands again, my mouth hanging open. My head filled with a blank buzzing sound.

"What happened to you?" Pikachu asked, seemingly torn between confusion and apprehension at my behavior.

"What… happened…?"

I cast back, trying to remember what had happened. I frowned. Then real panic began to grow in me. Much worse than discovering I was a Charmander. I pressed my hands against my skull and my eyes widened. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

"What?" Pikachu asked, stepping towards me once again.

I slowly turned to him, a look of devastation on my face. "I," I paused, and continued very slowly. "I can't remember… anything. There's-there's nothing there!"

Pikachu knelt next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. Neither of us moved for a while. I was waiting for the initial shock to pass, but it didn't. It was almost getting worse. Where was I from? I knew I was a human, so how did I turn into a Pokémon?

Pikachu hesitated. "I'm not sure what to do about amnesia. But maybe we should go up to Charm Town. We can at least get you some food and see if any of the Pokémon there might be able to help you."

I was slow to respond. Finally I looked up at him. "Yeah, okay."

He smiled. "My name's Link."

I realized with a small feeling of relief that I still knew my name. "I'm Cara."

I moved to stand up, awkward in this strange new body. I got one leg beneath me, and flinched in pain. I placed my hand against my right hip and flinched again. There seemed to be a rather nasty bruise there.

"You're hurt?" Link asked.

"I think it's just a bruise," I responded. I wondered how it had gotten there. I managed to get all the way to my feet. I took a couple clumsy steps. My feet were big and my legs were short and I had no idea what to do with my tail.

Link watched me closely in case I was about to fall. "You really _were_ a human, weren't you?" He looked slightly suspicious. Not that I could blame him. I mean, he'd just found a Charmander on the beach who claimed that she was a human and who said that she'd lost all her memories. I suppose I'd be suspicious too.

I nodded.

"Come on. I'll take you to Charm Town. We can talk to Lucario. He might be able to help."

He started down the beach and I shuffled after him, trying to keep my feet from tripping over each other. Except when I focused on that, I let my tail drag in the sand. I grit my teeth in frustration, and didn't notice at first that Link had paused so that I could catch up with him. He continued again when we were side-by-side.

"So," I said, still staring at my feet, "where am I?"

"Well, Charm Town is up above us." He gestured at the cliff beside the beach.. "And this country we're in is Naratay. There aren't actually any humans living here. But there are some across the sea. Actually…" He hesitated.

"What?" I prompted.

"Well, see, humans kind of cause a lot of trouble. Like…" He broke off. "You shouldn't tell anyone else that you're human yet."

I looked at him and cocked my head. "Okay. If you say so." Could I be from across the sea?

We started up the trail that zigzagged up the cliff.

"Do you think any of the Pokémon up here might be able to help me with my memory?"

"Kirlia, maybe."

"Okay."

We arrived at the top of the cliff and walked down a road. Before long, Charm Town came into view. We passed a residential area, with little houses lining the road. The buildings increased as we moved farther in. Finally we arrived at what must have been Town Square. There was a fountain rippling brightly and several shops around the open area. Most of the buildings seemed to be designed after Pokémon. There was a great stone Dojo with the roof shaped like a Tyranitar. Another building looked vaguely like two Kecleon back-to-back. One shop was rounded and painted like a Chansey.

Pokémon of all varieties strolled around, carrying bags and wearing scarves or jackets or hats or something.

I watched it all with interest as I tagged along after Link. I was getting used to walking, though I was limping slightly.

We made for a building across from the main fountain. It was placed to be right near the center of town in front of Town Square. The black roof, blue walls, and silver spikes indicated that it belonged to a Lucario.

"Lucario is in charge of the town. I guess like a mayor," Link explained, leading me through the door. As we walked in, a Lopunny hopped up to greet us.

"Welcome! You're Link, right?" She turned to me. "I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"

"Cara," I replied.

Lopunny smiled. "Welcome to Charm Town! How can I help you?"

"Can we see Lucario?" Link asked.

Lopunny glanced back to a room beyond the entrance room. "I don't think he's in right now, but I can go get him. May I ask why you're calling?"

We hesitated. I didn't know what to say, so I stayed quiet.

"Uh, it's kinda hard to explain," Link said at last.

Lopunny gave a small laugh. "I'll let you explain it to him then. Right this way, please!" She hopped across the room and ushered it into the office beyond. "You can wait in here. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Link sat down in one of the chairs. I glanced at the chair next to him and awkwardly pulled myself into it.

"I wonder if he'll really be able to help," I muttered.

"Well, at least he can get Chansey to come and help your leg. And he can bring Kirlia over to check out your memories. Maybe she can unlock something."

I nodded. I knew that Link was only half doing this to help me. The Pokémon around here were suspicious towards people, so he wanted to make sure I really wasn't a threat. I really hoped I wasn't.

"Uh, listen," I said slowly. I hesitated. "I don't know why I'm here. But I really don't want to cause any trouble. If… If I will be a problem, you can make me leave. And I'll go. If humans are bad, I mean. If I was sent here for some bad reason, I don't want to hurt anyone."

Link looked at me oddly, not quite sure how to respond. "If you got your memories back, and you did have orders to do something bad here, would you?"

I thought for a minute. "I hope not. I mean, I don't know what motives there would be."

"Yeah, I suppose you have no way of knowing, huh?"

"Except I feel like I really like Pokémon. That must mean something. And you helped me too."

Pause.

"Um, have you ever heard of a human being turned into a Pokémon?"

Link shook his head. "Never."

We lapsed into silence until we heard someone come in through the front door. We turned to see a Luario walk into the office. He sat down and faced us.

"Link, right?" Lucario asked.

"Yeah."

"And Lopunny said Cara?"

I nodded and hesitated. I looked to Link, and he nodded reassuringly. I took a deep breath and then said, "I'm a human."

Lucario propped his head on his paw and raised his eyebrow. He clearly thought I was here as a prank or something. I dropped my head, feeling stupid. How could I expect anyone to believe me?

"Uh," Link said, coming to my rescue, "I found her unconscious on the beach. When she woke up, she told me she was a human and that she couldn't remember anything."

Lucario turned back to look at me. "And yet, you know you're human?"

I opened my mouth, but didn't know how to respond. I closed it. Finally I said in a soft, defeated tone, "I guess I'll just leave."

"Wait!" Link exclaimed, standing up. "I know it's hard to believe, but can't we try to help her? At least see if Kirlia can look into her mind? And she should get Chansey to look at her leg. She's been limping since she got here."

"I'm sorry, "Lucario said. "I will certainly ask them to join us. Though it's hard to know how to respond to such a comment."

I nodded. I knew he hadn't meant to seem like he didn't care.

"Lopunny!" Lucario called. A moment later, Lopunny peered through the door. "Could you please bring Kirlia and Chansey? Ask them to wait out there until I call them."

Lopunny nodded and bounded off.

"Do you remember anything?" Lucario prompted.

"I know that my name's Cara. And I remember a bunch of things. Like I know you're a Lucario. And I know what a Chansey is and stuff. But all of my personal memories… it's like they're just gone."

Lucario looked perplexed. "All that in addition to turning into a Charmander, huh? I've never heard of a human turning into a Pokémon. But the whole business with Mewthree is probably a sign that such things shouldn't surprise me."

"What?" I asked. "What did you say?"

"About Mewthree?"

I nodded. Something about that word rang inside my head.

"Well, since Mewthree's caused quite a mess, there is a possibility you're arriving here has to do with him. I might as well tell you what's going on. Link, I'm sure you've heard most of it." Link nodded.

"Well," Lucario said, leaning back, "Mew was once said to be the most Powerful Pokémon on Earth." I nodded. That sounded familiar. "Then scientists attempted to create a stronger version of Mew, called (not very creatively, I think) Mewtwo. This Pokémon was capable of things Mew could never do, and it certainly seemed worthy of the title of "most powerful Pokémon. But apparently this wasn't perfect enough. Mewtwo, it seems, had lost Mew's original abilities to teleport, transform, and learn every single attack known to Pokémon. And its physical strength was nothing to marvel at. They also had trouble controlling it. So, they tried to make another one. From what I understand, they sacrificed Mewtwo to create the next stage in their project: Mewthree. This Pokémon filled all the gaps left by Mewtwo. It's significantly more powerful than its predecessor. Problem is, this one wouldn't cooperate either and it escaped. And to get away from humans, it came here. It's been very bad for all of us. Somehow Mewthree is able to take control of wild Pokémon. He uses them to keep everyone else away from him. And it's hard to get them back to their senses, even if you defeat them. They attack anyone they come across. It's very dangerous to go anywhere anymore."

I realized that my mouth was hanging open. I shut it.

"We sent a team of our best fighters to chase him away, but only Honchkrow came back. In real bad shape he was, too. And he didn't have anything good to say. Doesn't seem like he's ever really recovered from the shock."

Lucario sat up and looked at me. "So, if you really have lost your memory, now you might understand why we'd be distrustful of any humans."

I dropped my head and nodded.

"We don't know if she's got anything to do with it though," Link said. I looked up at him, startled. He really was trying to defend me. I felt a surge of gratitude and smiled. I had no idea what I'd do if he hadn't shown up.

"Yes, but I'm afraid we must be cautious during these times," Lucario sighed. "Let me ask you this, Cara. Are you prepared to let Kirlia search your mind?"

I nodded.

Lucario smiled. "Very well. I hope that we'll have no cause to become enemies." He raised his voice. "You can let Kirlia in now!" He turned back to me. "Cara, why don't you move over there?" He indicated a couch against the side of the room. "You'll probably need to lie down."

I moved over to the couch and sat down just as Kirlia came in.

"Hi there, Lucario," she said in a sort of sing-song voice. "What was it you needed?"

"This young lady over here," Lucario said, gesturing to me, "has lost her memories. She was hoping you might be able to help her out."

Kirlia pranced over to me. "Lost your memories? Poor dear. Here, lie back."

I dragged my tail out of the way (I didn't want it to light anything on fire) and rolled onto my back.

"Now, relax and try to clear your mind. It might feel a bit odd, but don't resist."

"Okay." I closed my eyes and did my best to clear my mind. I felt something cool sliding through my thoughts, but I did my best not to resist. It felt so strange. It was hard to let someone else snoop through my memories. Except… there were no memories. Not that I knew of, anyway.

Finally Kirlia pulled out. I opened my eyes and sat up, eager to hear what she had to say.

Kirlia sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid there wasn't much I could do to help. I found lots of general information in there. A lot of stuff about Pokémon types, evolutions, attacks, and such. But no memories. No personal experiences, places you've been, or people you know."

My stomach felt like it had disappeared. I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. "B-but, isn't there anything you can do?"

Kirlia shook her head sadly. "If I knew how you lost your memories, maybe. But there's nothing from before you woke up. I did get a sense of falling and spinning and strange swirling colors. But that's it. I'm sorry. I wish there was more I could do to help."

I drooped. What could I do? Would I ever get my memories back? Would I ever find out who I was or how I came to be here?

"Kirlia, on your way out, would you be so kind as to send Chansey in?"

"Of Course!" Kirlia said. "I wish you luck," she said, turning to me. "I'm sure you'll learn about yourself before long." She glided out of the room and sent Chansey in.

"Would be so kind as to tend to Cara here," Lucario said, gesturing to me.

Chansey came up to where I was sitting. "Oh, my. What happened?"

"I have a big bruise on my leg," I said, tilting my body to show her. "It's hard to walk."

Chansey examined my hip. "You've bruised the bone. Ordinarily it would take a long to heal completely, but I have something that will help it recover faster." She reached into her pouch and pulled out a jar, which she unscrewed. She spread a thick, cold cream on my leg, making me flinch. Then she handed me the jar. "You should put some of this on twice a day. You'll feel better in no time!"

"Thanks," I said.

"Now," Lucario said as Chansey left. "I'm afraid we're all very busy dealing with the Mewthree incident at the moment. I'm afraid we can't spare much time to help you."

"Okay," I said.

"We will keep our eyes and ears open for anything that might help you. But when you're here, don't tell anyone else that you're a human."

"Right," I agreed.

"The amnesia would probably be okay to reveal, since you don't know your actual story anyway. In the meantime, you need a place to stay. Link?"

"Yes?"

"You're staying with Arcanine, aren't you? I'm sure she has room to take Cara in as well. Why don't you take her there?"


	11. A Team

First time I played Rescue Team, I was a Pikachu with a Charmander. When I played Explorers of Time, I was a Charmander with a Mudkip. I liked Explorers of Time a lot, but Red/Blue Rescue Team was fun too.

The rest of the Pokémon at Charm Town had names at one point, but it got too confusing, and most of them won't show up enough to really need names anyway. ^-^'

* * *

><p>A Team<p>

Link lead me across Charm Town Square. We moved to a street just off the square and headed towards a building with a white roof and orange and black stripes on the walls.

"This is Arcanine's house," Link said. He seemed to have dropped his suspicion of me after realizing that I really _couldn't_ remember anything and so wasn't a spy or something. "It's almost dinner time, which means everyone's probably home right now."

I nodded. He opened the door and we walked inside.

After a few steps, we found ourselves in the living room. Several sets of eyes turned to face us.

An instant later, something brown and furry was bouncing up and down in front of me. I took a startles step backwards and crashed into the wall.

"Hiya! Who are you? I've never seen you before! Where are you from? Are you a friend of Link's?"

It took me a minute to realize that the bouncing, babbling furry thing was a Zigsagoon. I opened my mouth, but wasn't sure where to start.

A second Pokémon approached us: a Poochyena. He grabbed Zigzagoon's tail and dragged him across the room away from us.

Link gave me an apologetic grin. I shrugged.

Three more Pokémon appeared, two of them climbing off the couch and a third walking in from a different room: Furrett, Togekiss, and Pachirisu.

"Hi, Link!" Pachirisu exclaimed, her tail swaying back and forth. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Cara," Link explained.

"Are you new around here?" Furrett asked.

I nodded.

"Where are you from?" Togekiss asked.

"Uh," I started. I had no idea how to answer that. Fortunately Link came to my rescue.

"She's from the southern end of Naratay. She's an exchange student, and since she's a friend of the family, I thought she could stay here."

I nodded, trying not to look confused by this story. I cast around for something that could help. I was quiet a little longer than normal until I thought of something to say. It would sound weird, but it would be a semi-valid excuse.

"I have sort of a small medical problem. I came up here because I heard the medicine was better than at my home town."

"What's wrong?" Pachirisu asked, concerned.

"Don't be rude," Furrett said, pushing Pachirisu out of the way.

"Uh, that's okay," I said awkwardly. What was I thinking? Now they'd all treat me like a sick person, or something. Bleh.

"It's not that bad," I said quickly.

"You don't have to talk about it," Togekiss assured me. "Anyway, does Arcanine know you're here? You should tell her. She's in the kitchen."

"I was helping her get dinner ready, so I'll go with you," Pachirisu exclaimed.

Link and I exchanged glances. He looked a bit embarrassed about the way his housemates behaved. I was just glad to have somewhere to stay. And although a couple of the Pokémon were a bit energetic, it was nice to feel welcome. I'd have to be careful about revealing the whole human-with-amnesia thing, though.

Link and I followed Pachirisu through one of the doors to the kitchen. An Arcanine was standing in front of a fireplace that had a pot suspended over the flames. She gripped the handle of a big wooden spoon in her teeth and was stirring what looked like soup. It smelled amazing and I was reminded how hungry I was.

Arcanine turned around as we entered. Pachirisu took over with the soup.

"I thought I heard a commotion out there," Arcanine said, looking me over from head to tail.

"Hi," I said.

"This is Cara," Link explained. "Lucario thought she could stay here."

Arcanine smiled. "I don't see why not. There's room for one more, and it's always fun to have a new face around."

"I'm from down south," I said. "I'm here to study, and since Link's a, uh, family friend, he said I could stay with him."

Link nodded.

"The rooms are upstairs. You can have the one to the far left," Arcanine said.

The scent of the soup was driving me crazy. I wondered how long it had been since I'd last eaten. My stomach gave a loud gurgle. I tried to keep my face straight, but didn't do a very good job.

Arcanine laughed. "I suppose you've had a long trip. Don't worry. Dinner will be done in just a couple minutes."

Link gestured to me. I looked over and the two of us nodded at each other. We'd have to tell at least Arcanine about my amnesia. We could leave the human part out, but we'd need her help to keep the others from asking awkward questions about my past.

"Uh, Arcanine?" Link said. "Can we tell you something outside?"

* * *

><p>Fortunately Arcanine didn't ask too many questions. When everyone piled together at the big table for dinner, she managed to keep conversation away from most of my past.<p>

After dinner, the others dispersed. Some went outside into the dimming evening. Zigzagoon and Furrett started a board game in the living room.

"I think I want to lie down," I muttered to Link. I felt really exhausted, and I also wanted time to think.

He nodded. "That makes sense. Come on. I'll show you where to go."

We went upstairs and Link pointed me to my room. I paused in the doorway and turned to him.

"Thanks. For everything, I mean."

Link shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. "I didn't really do much."

I shook my head. "You might not think so. But if I'd woken up on that beach not knowing anything or where I was… I don't know what I would have done. And you got me a place to stay, and maybe someone around here will be able to help me with my memories."

Link gave a small smile. "Okay. Well, good night. I hope, uh, I hope you can get your memories back."

He walked down the hall and into his room. I sighed and turned to look at my own room. Even though it was almost dark, my bright tail let me see around. It was a small room, though I guess that was to be expected. And there wasn't much in it: a small table, a set of drawers, and a pile of cushions against the far wall, right beneath the window. I guess the cushions were my bed. I shuffled over to them and sat down, leaning against the windowsill and gazing out over Charm Town.

I didn't want to keep relying on Link. No doubt he had other things he had to do. I didn't want him having to look after me for as long as I was here. I'd already taken up most of his day. Maybe I'd go back to visit Lucario and see if he had any leads I could follow up.

I cast back into my memory, but there was nothing there. It was just a big hollow void. I felt my eyes begin to prickle from the hopeless frustration and the emptiness. I shut my eyes and leaned back against the cushions, pushing my tail to the side so I wouldn't burn anything.

I tried to think of something to distract myself. It was hard considering how little personal stuff was in my head. I realized that I could name a several attacks that Pokémon could learn, so I started listing a bunch of them in my head. I went through Charmander, Lucario, Kirlia, Lopunny, and Togekiss. When I got to Pikachu, I couldn't hold the tears back anymore.

* * *

><p><em>Cara? <em>

Someone calling me? I wonder… do I know that voice?

_Cara! _It was so distant and feeble. Barely a whisper of an echo.

_Who are you? _

_Cara! _The voice seemed to choke with a sob.

_Who are you? Can you hear me? _

But there was no reply. Whoever it was had gone.

I opened my eyes. "Twilight," I said. I blinked, confused. I had no idea where that word had come from. It clearly wasn't twilight. It was dawn. But then where was I? What was this strange, small room? I had a momentary shock as I realized that I had a tail, but once I rediscovered I was a Charmander, everything came back to me.

Right. I'd awoken on the beach. I hesitated, and then slowly stood up. I nearly fell over before I got re-accustomed to my big feet and short legs. My head reeled a bit, but I managed to make it to the hall. It was early enough that no one else seemed to be up.

I hesitated, then made my way downstairs and to the front door.

Charm Town was mostly empty. A few shopkeepers were moving around, setting up their stores, and a few Pokémon were taking an early-morning stroll. But no one paid me any attention as I followed the route I'd gone with Link the day before.

Fortunately the route to the beach was fairly straightforward. When I got to the bottom of the cliff trail, I sort of just wanted to curl up in the warm sand. But I kept walking to the area where I'd woken up the day before. Maybe there was a clue hidden somewhere.

I don't know how long I searched. I scraped through the sand, walked along the shoreline and along the cliff, stepping and re-stepping different areas of the beach. But there was nothing. I finally stopped and dropped to my knees in the damp sand. The sea foam sloshed at my knees, but I didn't move.

"I guess you didn't find anything, huh?"

I whirled around, nearly falling over. The soft sand and the sound of the waves meant that I hadn't heard Link approach.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't find you when we woke up, and you weren't at Lucario's. I thought you might be here."

I sighed and managed to stand up. "I thought there might be something. Anything that might help."

Link nodded sympathetically.

My head drooped. "I don't know what to do," I sighed.

"We'll check back in with Lucario," Link assured me. "I'm sure he'll be able to think of something that might help you. And I guess in the meantime, I can show you around Charm Town."

I looked up. "I _would_ like to look around. But if there's something you have to be doing, I don't want to be taking your time, or anything."

Link shrugged. "Not really. Come on. Why don't we at least go get breakfast?"

I smiled. "Sure. That sounds like a good idea."

We made our way back to the top of the cliff and walked towards town.

We were nearly there when we heard a strange squeaking sound coming from behind us.

We turned to find something blue streaking up the road in our direction, chittering in alarm. It wasn't until it had nearly reached us that I realized it was a Surskit.

He skidded to a halt in front of us and dashed in circles around Link and I, squealing so quickly that I could barely make out any of his words.

"Stop!" Link exclaimed, stepping in front of Surskit to make him halt. "Talk slower!"

Surskit took several deep gasps and then said (still rather quickly), "Caterpie! We were playing in the woods and a Staravia came down and grabbed Caterpie! He flew off with her andIdon'tknowwhat'!"

"Listen, Surskit," Link said, putting a hand on his head. "Can you show us where they went? We'll get Caterpie back."

Surskit stood there for a couple seconds, trembling. Then he slowly nodded. "I saw which way they went." Surskit looked like he wanted to get as far away from the woods as possible, but he turned around and we started towards the woods off in the distance. Surskit huddled close to Link's side.

"Are you sure you want to come?" Link asked me in a soft voice.

"Yeah, I want to help," I said. Although as I said this, I realized that I didn't really know how to use any of my attacks. Would I even be able to use fire attacks since I wasn't a real Charmander?

We reached the roads and disappeared under the shade of the trees. I swallowed and moved a little closer to Link and Surskit.

"We were playing just here," Surskit said a short way into the woods. There was a little grassy glade with tiny little wildflowers blooming among the dappled light.

"Staravia flew that way," Surskit said, pointing deeper into the woods.

"Surskit," I said, "you should probably wait here. See, you can fit in that hollow log and wait for us."

Surskit nodded and ducked into the log, curling up and watching us through a crack in the bark. Link and I hiked off into the woods, towards where Starvia had gone. I moved as quick as I could with my short legs.

"That was a good idea," Link said.

I nodded vaguely, trying not to slow Link down too much.

Then we heard a high-pitched squeal – the unmistakable cry of a Caterpie.

"There!" I exclaimed. We dove through the bushes towards the sound, and came upon a large dead tree. A Staravia was standing on one of the cracked branches, holding something in its talons: the tail of a Caterpie.

Caterpie was holding onto the branch, trying not to let Staravia pull her into the hollow in the dead tree. She was squealing in terror.

"Let her go!" Link shouted.

Staravia looked down at us and smirked. I noticed his eyes seemed oddly dark, like the pupils were too big. It was kinda creepy.

"Foolish children," Staravia scoffed. "You should know better than to interrupt a person during breakfast."

I picked up a stick, not that it would do me much good.

Link was the one who actually did something useful. He growled angrily, and his cheeks began to spark. A minute later, he unleashed Thundershock. But it missed, glancing off the branch next to Staravia. Staravia flinched and Caterpie slipped free, tumbling to the ground. I dashed up to stand over Caterpie as Staravia regained his balance and glared down at us.

"Don't think I'll run away with my tail between my legs!" he snarled, and launched off of the branch at Caterpie and I.

"Cara!" Link exclaimed, readying another Thundershock. Staravia swerved, avoiding the electric attack. I stepped in front of Caterpie and faced the diving Staravia. The moment he was in range, I swung the branch around and whacked Staravia in the head. His head snapped to the side and I jumped forwards, landing Staravia's back.

Staravia squawked furiously and thrashed around, trying to throw me off. I grabbed his feathery crest in one hand to keep myself in place. I flung the branch away so I could hold on tighter.

_Now or never, _I thought dryly. I opened my mouth and gave a growling exhale, trying to breathe fire. It didn't work. Instead, a puff of thick black smoke with a few cinders spewed out. I started coughing and choking, my eyes watering from the cinders I'd just inhaled.

Staravia took advantage of my distraction and flung me to the ground. I landed heavily on my back, eyes still blurry.

I heard a zapping sound and saw a flash of light. A moment later, Staravia screeched as Link's Thundershock finally hit.

I got to my feet as Staravia stood again. I took several deep breaths to try to clear my lungs. But Staravia turned and went for Link. And Link wasn't prepared to use another attack.

"Caterpie!" I called without thinking. "Use String Shot!"

Caterpie, huddled at the base of the tree, looked up and nodded. She quickly released a spray of sticky string, which wrapped around Staravia's wings and feet, tripping him up. His momentum carried him into Link, and the two landed in a tangled heap. There was another burst of electricity and Link managed to wriggle free.

Staravia staggered to his feet and faced us, his wings splayed out and gluey. He took a step forwards, eyes burning in fury. Then he threw himself forwards.

It happened almost automatically. I opened my mouth wide and let out a bright jet of flame. It engulfed Staravia, and at last he toppled over and lay still.

I let out a gasp and dropped to my knees. I realized that I was shaking. Link was too. I looked up at him, and both of us grinned.

I got to my feet as Link went over to get Caterpie.

"T-thank you," Caterpie said, still trembling all over.

"No problem," Link said. "Come on. Let's get back to town before this guy wakes up."

Caterpie nodded and the three of us walked back to where we'd left Suskit.

Surskit dashed out to meet us, darting in joyful circles around Caterpie.

"Caterpie! Caterpie! Are you okay? When the thing came and flew off with you I was so scared !"

Caterpie nodded. "I'm okay. Thanks for getting help, Surskit."

When we got out of the woods, Caterpie and Surskit dashed ahead, eager to get home.

"That was pretty impressive for your first battle," Link said.

"My first attempt wasn't so hot," I said with a small laugh.

"How'd you know to get Caterpie to use Strong Shot?" Link asked.

"I-I dunno. It just kinda popped out…" Why _would_ I tell the little Caterpie to do something?

"And how'd you keep from getting thrown off that Staravia?"

I thought for a minute. "I dunno. I kinda feel like I was used to riding something that was moving all over the place."

"Could be a clue to your past," Link said, grinning.

"Yeah, I guess so. I wish it told me more about myself though."

"Maybe you were in a rodeo."

I snorted. And then I thought of something. "Hey, that Staravia's eyes were almost black. Do you know why?"

Link nodded darkly. "Apparently the Pokémon that are under Mewthree's influence have their eyes go all dark like that. Maybe when he wakes up he'll be all right again. Hey, I've been thinking. Because of the whole Mewthree business, there have been a lot of rescue teams going around. Two or three Pokémon will go out and help someone who got attacked by the possessed Pokémon. I've been thinking about joining one fore a while, but I didn't, uh, have anyone I wanted to ask. Except the way you ran to help Caterpie and attacked Staravia… uh… would you like to form a rescue team with me? At least until you get your memories back and everything?"

I was silent for a minute as I thought. I had nothing else I needed to be doing, at least until Lucario had a lead that I could follow. And if things were as dangerous as it seemed, maybe it would be good to get stronger so I could protect myself as well as others. I also wanted to help Link, since he'd done so much for me already. And who knows? Maybe I'd discover something about myself during a mission.

I slowly nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll join a rescue team with you."


	12. Hat and Bandana

Sorry for being so late. Had a research paper due - the first of three for the semester. Writing a fanfic is a nice change from writing about scientific articles.

I'm taking another writing class, plus my friends have been giving me a lot of helpful feedback on my latest stories (they never actually read my fanfics). A lot of the stuff I write needs to be severely edited, as with anything that's important. So fanfics are a really nice change. I have fun writing a chapter, I edit it once, and I don't have to worry about all the other big, complex writing stuff. And once a chapter's done, I don't worry about it much anymore, though I will go back and fix a few things occasionally (beyond the usual grammar mistakes).

Hat and Bandana

"I think that's a good Idea," Lucario said, nodding. "I'll get the two of you registered as a rescue team. You can start training with Tyranitar, and then you can go on rescue missions. In the meantime, we'll ask around and try to find some Pokémon who might be able to help you find information about yourself. You can visit them during some of your other missions."

Lucario reached out his paw and pulled a couple papers across his desk before lifting them up. "Lopunny!" he called.

Lopunny peered through the doorway and cocked her head.

"Do you know where the rescue team submission forms are? I thought I had them here."

Lopunny smiled. "You really are hopeless with paperwork, aren't you? They're in the bottom right drawer, in one of the middle files."

Lucario sighed and pulled the drawer open, leafing through the pages. "Right." He pulled out a sheet of paper. "You can fill this out. Should only take a couple minutes."

Link took the form and began to fill out his half of the information. Then he handed it to me. Charmander hands aren't built for writing, but I managed to write "Cara" as my name. I stared for a couple seconds at "Species" before I wrote "Charmander." I had absolutely no idea what to write for "Level" and "Attacks Known."

Lucario looked up and saw my confusion. "You can leave that blank," he suggested.

"Thanks," I mumbled. I filled out the rest of what I knew and then looked at the bottom section of the form.

"What should we name our team?" Link asked, looking at the line at the bottom.

I tapped the pencil against the desk as I thought. I suppose ordinarily I would have chosen a name that I associated with. Something I liked, or something I was good at. That was almost impossible at the moment, though.

"Can you think of anything?" I asked Link.

He shrugged.

I glanced around Lucario's office, looking for inspiration. My eyes fell on his bookshelf and I scanned the titles. For half a second, my eyes landed on the word "Avalon." I quickly stopped and scanned back along the row, but I couldn't find it. Then I realized that what I'd seen was a book called "Geography of Valeron." Vareron was probably some place around here, I figured. But why had I thought it said Avalon?

"Hey, do you know what Avalon means?" I asked.

Link shook his head, but Lucario looked up. "It's a place, isn't it? An island from a fairytale, or something?"

I nodded slowly. I could vaguely remember something about that. So, I guess fairytales didn't get dumped out of my mind along with my real memories. I hesitated, and then placed a pencil against the page.

"Team Name: Avalon."

"Hmm," Link said thoughtfully. At least he didn't seem to disapprove.

That left one blank spot on the paper: and empty square labeled "Team Badge."

"We get to design our own badge?" Link asked.

Lucario nodded.

"Well," Link said, taking the pencil, "Rescue Teams help Pokémon, right? So, we're showing people the way, like the North Star does. Maybe our symbol could be a star." In the square, he carefully sketched out a star with eight smoothly sloping points.

"Looks like there should be something inside the star," I suggested. Link nodded. "Or," I muttered thoughtfully, "You could give the star wings, or something. That'd be cool."

"Ooh, I like that!" Link said enthusiastically. He quickly sketched two feathery wings on either side of the star. We nodded to each other and grinned.

"Oh, that's interesting," Lucario said, taking the paper from us. "We'll get your rescue badges to you by the end of the week, and then you can start going on missions. You should get as much training as you can from Tyranitar until then."

"Good luck!" Lopunny called to us as we left. We waved to her.

"So," Link said once we were outside. "Tyranitar's Gym is pretty close to Arcanine's house. Do you want to go there now?"

"Okay," I agreed. We went to the large building that I'd noticed before. It seemed to be made mostly of rock with the front of the roof roughly shaped like a Tyranitar's head. I followed Link in through the front door. The room seemed much smaller than the outside of the building let on. Then I realized that there were large walls set up about ten feet away from the door. It was probably a partition to the training room, because we could hear loud thumps and growls coming from the other side.

Link walked around to an opening in the wall. I followed him, and both of us peered inside. A moment later we leapt back in alarm as a huge rock came flying at us and landed a few feet from where we'd been standing. Link and I exchanged alarmed glances, and cautiously crept up to the opening again.

Two Pokémon were engaged in a fierce battle. They were dodging around and kicking up so much dust that it was hard to tell what was going on. One of them was a Tyranitar. It took me a minute to realize that the other was a Honchkrow. Although Tyranitar had the type advantage, Honchkrow had the advantage of height and speed. It was a pretty even match. And a pretty fierce one as well.

Tyranitar roared and lifted a heavy rock from the floor. With a mighty heave, he hurled it at Honchkrow, who used Night Slash to shatter the boulder into pieces. Bits of rock rained down and Honchkrow darted in with Wing Attack. Tyranitar caught Honchkrow's leg and threw him to the ground. Honchkrow's feathers began to glow with Steel Wing, and he whipped his wing up. As the same moment, Tyranitar's arm came down with hammer-force. The two Pokémon stopped within an inch of each other. For a moment, they remained rooted to the spot. Then they slowly backed away. They bowed to each other, and then Honchkrow turned and walked out of the arena. He barely spared us a second glance as he passed. And the moment he was outside, he flew away.

Panting heavily, Tyranitar walked towards us. He paused as he saw Link and I peering around the corner. Link was staring at Tyranitar in awe.

"Oh, Hi," Tyranitar said, moving to the front room. "Did you come here to train?"

Link nodded, eyes wide.

Tyranitar shrugged, taking note of Link's expression. "Honchkrow and I are old sparring buddies." Tyranitar hesitated and looked after Honchkrow, a troubled expression on his face. "He's been a bit off recently, though. Guess it's to be expected."

"Cause Honchkrow was attacked by Mewthree," Link reminded me in a whisper. "He lost the rest of his team." I nodded, recalling what Lucario had told us.

"Yeah," Tyranitar agreed, heaving a deep sigh. "Anyway, how can I help you?"

"Oh," Link said. "We just applied to create a rescue team, and Lucario told us to come here and train until we got our badges."

"Right," Tyranitar said. "I recognize you," he said, and paused.

"Link," Link clarified.

"Yes, Link," Tyranitar repeated. He looked at me. "I haven't seen you around here though."

"I'm Cara," I said.

"She's a friend of the family, so Arcanine's letting her stay with us," Link explained.

"Welcome to Charm Town," Tyranitar said."

"Thanks."

"I'm afraid your work will be cut out for you if you form a rescue team," Tyranitar said, sounding rather dark. "These are hard times."

"That's why we want to do it," Link assured him.

Tyranitar smiled. "Well, in that case, why don't we check you guys out? See your potential. Come with me."

We followed him into the arena, and he ushered us to the center of the ring. We waited, wondering if he'd come at us, or send another Pokémon in to battle us. But he simply stared.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He said finally. "Go on!"

We stared at him blankly.

"Well, fight each other!"

Alarmed, we exchanged glances.

"It's customary to bow before a match," Tyranitar informed us.

We hesitated, and then the two of us bowed. And still neither of us moved.

"Come on!" Tyranitar exclaimed, annoyed. "How can you expect to fight together if you don't know each other's strengths? And don't you hold back, either."

I hesitated, then opened my mouth and let out Ember.

Link easily dodged. I stopped my attack and looked over at him. But I wasn't fast enough to react as he used Thundershock.

"Gaaaah!" I shouted as the electricity struck me and coursed through me, making me tense, and then collapse on my knees. A moment later, something struck me and sent me sprawling to the ground.

"First match goes to Link," Tyranitar called.

Wincing, I pushed myself to my feet.

"Are you okay?" Link asked, concerned.

"How do Pokémon _do_ this?" I muttered.

Tyranitar walked up to us and stared down at me. "I'm afraid that wasn't very impressive."

I grumbled in frustration. I would have liked to tell him that Link had a lot more experience _being a Pokémon, _but I managed to keep my mouth shut.

"She's a beginner," Link explained.

"I can see that," Tyranitar muttered.

Link looked at me oddly. "You did really well when we fought that Staravia."

"Oh, were you the ones that helped Surskit and Caterpie?" Tyranitar asked.

We nodded.

"I was probably better during that because I could actually get close to my opponent. He didn't use any attacks like Thundershock that could hit me from far away."

Tyranitar stared at me. "Usually Charmander aren't as good as close combat. Their fire attacks make them more effective for fighting at more of a distance."

"I guess," I murmured.

"Why don't you try it, then?" Tyranitar said. "No special attacks. Just go at each other with tails and claws."

I really didn't feel like doing this, especially when I saw a leftover static spark flash between my fingertips. But I stepped up to face Link again and the two of us bowed. Link charged forwards first and grabbed my arm. It happened almost automatically. I clamped my hand down on his wrist, ducked, and twisted his arm around until it was behind his head. Startled and off balance, all I had to do was give him a little push and he toppled onto his back.

"Match goes to Cara," Tyranitar announced.

Link got to his feet, wincing.

"Where did you learn that?" Tyranitar asked.

I opened my mouth, but had no idea what to say.

"That looked like an aikido move," Tyranitar said. "I've never seen a Charmander use anything like that before. Usually just fighting type Pokémon. Charmander have such short arms and legs that I would have thought such battle techniques would be wasted on them."

Once again, I had to stop myself from responding something stupid, like "my arms and legs were never this short before."

"When you evolve," Tyranitar continued, "it might be more helpful. And it's definitely good to know such things if you're against water Pokémon, and such. But when you grow stronger, you'll get some powerful fire techniques and you'll want to spend some time on those. I'm not saying you should stop that aikido stuff you're doing. Link, you might even benefit some from it. But fire attacks will be much more helpful to you in the long-run."

I nodded glumly.

"So, to start," Tyranitar said, "why don't the two of you just practice your Thundershock and Ember attacks? We'll get a couple targets set up for you. And you can have a couple practice battles in-between. When you've grown a few levels, then I'll start putting you through some of the courses here."

Several Magnemite hovered into sight from behind the walls that surrounded the arena. They were carrying several metal poles and disks between them. Within a few minutes, they had set up a pair of targets for Link and I to use.

"All right," Tyranitar said, turning and walking out of the arena. "Have at it."

…

The two of us shuffled home that evening, aching all over and practically carrying each other into Arcanine's house. I'd been zapped by Link's electricity many times over, and Link was thrown repeatedly to the ground by my self-defense moves. When we opened the door, something came flying out of nowhere and crashed into Link.

"Link, Link!" Pachirisu exclaimed. "Is it really true that you made a rescue team?" Her eyes were wide and sparkling in amazement.

"Yeah," Link groaned, pushing Pachirisu off of him. I helped drag him to his feet.

"Did you go on a dangerous mission and get beaten up by wild Pokémon?" Pachirisu asked, tail wagging.

"We were training at Tyranitar's gym," I explained. We helped steer each other into the living room and we collapsed onto the couch.

"So Tyranitar beat you up," Pachirisu suggested.

"Hehe. No," I said, smirking.

"We beat each other up," Link said, smiling wryly.

"Are you not friends anymore, then?"

"We were just practicing with each other," Link said.

"But then," Pachirisu started.

Furrett appeared from behind the couch. "Down, girl," he said. "Give the poor boy a break." He pushed a protesting Pachirisu out of the living room.

"She seems rather attached to you," I noted, grinning.

Link only sighed. "I hope Arcanine makes dinner soon."

After we ate, Link beckoned me to follow him. We went upstairs and into his room. He moved to the back corner where there was a small chest. He opened it and began digging through the contents. Eventually he pulled out two things: A hat and a bandana.

"I've been saving these for a while," he explained. "In case I ever found a partner to form a rescue team with. The bandana boosts attack." He held up a dark blue bandana with edges that were bordered with a yellow lightning pattern. "And that hat boosts defense." He held up what looked like an old-fashioned aviators cap.

"Well," I said, "the scarf is definitely yours, with that lightning pattern. I'll take the aviators cap I guess. Theoretically, I might be flying someday."

Link nodded and handed me the hat. I turned it around, examining it. Then I pulled it onto my head. Link laughed.

"I suppose it looks stupid," I said.

He shook his head. "It looks cool."

"So, put your bandana on."

He tied it around his neck.

"Nice," I said.

Both of us broke out grinning.

"Just think," Link said, "Next week, we get to go on our first mission!"


	13. Team Avalon

Team Avalon

"Here you are. Congratulations on becoming an official rescue team, Team Avalon!" Lucario reached out one paw to each of us and handed us our rescue badges. They'd been neatened up and embellished from Link's original sketch. There was a smaller star inside of the main 8-pointed star. The wings reached up from the upper sides of the star.

"Ooh, they turned out good!" I said, impressed. I pulled off my hat and pinned my badge near the front, off to one side. Link pinned his to his bandana, looking pleased.

"What's our first mission?" Link asked, standing up straighter, apparently trying to look impressive.

"Tyranitar said he had something for you to do. But he'll have one more test for you before he lets you go."

Link nodded. "I've heard about it. Apparently he turns the dojo into sort of an obstacle course."

"And one other thing," Lucario said. "You should go to see Kangaskhan and the Kecleon brothers. Kangaskhan will give you travel bags and basic supplies. You can buy anything else you need from the Kecleon brothers."

Lucario's tone indicated that we were dismissed. Link turned to leave, but I hesitated.

"Uh…" Lucario looked up at me. "I was wondering if you'd found anything yet."

"Actually, your first mission might be of some help," Lucario replied. "The person that Tyranitar is sending you to might know someone who could help you. If she hasn't heard of anything, she might know someone who does. And it would be safe for you to tell her your entire situation, including the human part."

"Who is this Pokémon?" I asked.

"Manectric," Lucario replied. "She's part of an organization we're forming to try to combat Mewthree. She's the one that's in charge of the technological stuff. And I think that has something to do with your first mission also."

"Who else is in the group?" I asked, curious.

"Well, a lot of us from Charm Town. I'm in it. So is Lopunny, Tyranitar, Arcanine, Kirlia, and most of the shopkeepers and stronger Pokémon around here. We also have some friends scattered around Naratay."

"Do you know how to fight him?" I asked. With the amount of power he supposedly had, I wondered what one could possibly do against him.

"That's one of the things that Manectric's working on, so you can ask her yourself."

I sighed. All this talk about "someone who might help me." Just random people somewhere who might have heard something weird about people turning into Pokémon. Although I guess that's all I can do for now.

"Thank you."

"Don't," Lucario suggested. "I'm afraid we haven't been of much help in discovering your past."

I looked away. "I get it. You're busy." As frustrating as it was, how could I expect them to take time off for me when there was such a dangerous foe afoot?

"I sent a message ahead to Manectric already, asking her to look into anything that might relate to your situation. I sent some messages to a few of my other friends as well. I'm sure they'll look into it whenever they get the chance."

I bowed my head and turned towards Link, who was waiting in the doorway.

"Good luck on your first mission," Lucario called after us.

We made our way to Kangaskhan's shop. When we stopped at the counter, she appeared and smiled down at us.

"Welcome! Link, right? And I've seen you around, but I don't know your name."

"Cara," I said.

Kangaskhan spotted our rescue team badges. "Oh, you started a rescue team, did you?" She asked. We nodded. "Wait here. I'll get you your packs."

She disappeared inside the shop and appeared a minute later carrying two bags. She handed me a black bag with a flame pattern rising up from the bottom. Link got a green bag with a sort of zig-zaggy pattern that vaguely brought lightning to mind.

I peered inside mine and found a pouch full of berries and some stats items. There was also what looked like a container to bring food in.

"This should get you through your basic missions," Kangaskhan explained. "If you need anything else, you can go visit the Kecleon brothers. They'll sell you what you need, and you can earn money when you go on missions. You might as well introduce yourselves to them."

So, we headed over to the next shop and two Kecleon jumped into view behind the counter – a green one and a purple one.

"Welcome!" The two of them chorused. "How can we help you?"

"We just started a rescue team," I said.

"Can we see what sort of stuff you have available?" Link asked.

The two Kecleon shuffled around and laid out an assortment of items on the counter. There were TMs, rare berries, different stat-boosting scarves, hats, and goggles, and strange blue orbs.

"What do the orbs do?" I asked.

"All sorts of stuff!" the green Kecleon exclaimed.

"Some teleport you to safety!" chimed the purple one.

"Or stun all the foes in the area!"

"Or alert you to oncoming enemies!"

"Or release a huge attack if you're surrounded by Pokémon."

"These things can do that?" I asked, amazed. They sure didn't look too impressive.

"That and more!" The two Kecleon chorused.

I sighed. I didn't have any money. Maybe after we earned some, I could get some cool gear.

"I'll take this one," Link said, pulling a coin from a pocket in his bandana. He handed it to the Kecelon brothers and took one of the orbs.

"A smokescreen," he explained, tucking the orb into his bag.

"That sounds useful," I agreed. "Come on. Let's get to the gym."

"Thank you for your purchase," said the Kecleon as we bid them farewell.

We stepped into the gym and froze. Instead of the usual entrance room we were used to, we were standing at the end of a short hallway. About ten feet away, the path turned out of sight.

"What's this?" I asked, confused.

"He must have set up the maze," Link said, scratching his head. I suppose we're supposed to go through it."

We shrugged and stepped forwards.

"How'd he make a maze so fast?" I asked.

"See the tracks on the floor?" Link asked.

I nodded. I'd noticed the criss-crossing ruts during the training sessions, but I never through to ask what they were for.

"These wall panels are magnetic," Link explained, tapping one of the stone-textured walls. "The Magnemite shift them around to make pathways."

"That's pretty awesome."

Link nodded. "Yeah. I've only ever heard of it before. I've also heard that Pokémon will attack us here, so keep you eyes open."

We came to a fork in the path.

"Which way?" I asked.

Link shrugged. "Beats me. Is there any easy way to get out of a maze?"

I shrugged. "I don't know anything beyond 'keep your hand on the wall, and eventually you'll come to the end,' but that would probably take a very long time. And I doubt Tyranitar would have done anything too hard for our first time."

We went right. It was a dead end, so we backtracked.

"Guess guessing doesn't really work, huh?" I asked.

The two of us laughed.

The path opened up, and we found ourselves facing an Oddish. We paused for a moment, staring at the little blue Pokémon. But the Oddish didn't hesitate. It whipped out its leaves and sent out a sparkling blue mist. Sleep Powder!

"Look out!" I exclaimed. I opened my mouth and used Ember, incinerating the powder. Oddish turned and dashed away.

"Booby trap," Link said. "Good reflexes, by the way."

I took a step forwards into the small room.

"Wait, look out!" Link exclaimed.

_Bam! _

Something bashed me in the head and sent me crashing to the ground. Wincing, I stood up and looked over to see what had happened. A sort of wooden pole had swung down from the ceiling, suspended parallel to the floor.

I stood up, rubbing my head and muttering darkly.

"Maybe we should go a bit more cautiously," Link suggested.

"Yeah," I grumbled.

We managed to spot most of the rest of the booby traps. As long as we went slowly and examined our surroundings, it was fairly easy to spot the traps. If we couldn't destroy them, we could dodge them without much difficulty. There were a couple traps we missed, but all we got was a sharp whack as punishment.

When we arrived at the next small room, a Magnemite flew at us, sparking menacingly. We managed to drive it off. The most dangerous ones were the Paras and Oddish that tried to use Sleep Powder and Stun Spore. Most of the opponents we ran into weren't too hard on us, and retreated after a few good attacks.

Tyranitar was going very easy on us.

Then we turned a corner and emerged into the largest room so far. The moment we entered, something came charging towards us. Link and I sprang to the side in time to dodge the oncoming Nidorino.

Link used Thundershock, but it had little effect on Nidorino. He only turned and charged again, right at me.

I jumped straight up, avoiding Nidorin's horn. I managed to grab his ear and I landed flat on his back. Nidorino whirled around and tried to knock me off by slamming his shoulder into the wall. I flinched and tried to pull my leg up to safety. Somehow I managed to hold on, using his ears like reigns.

"Do something!" Link shouted. If he used his electricity right now, there was no way he could avoid hitting me. And although I was on Nidorino's back, I wasn't doing anything useful. I was just a distraction.

I opened my mouth and out Ember. At that moment, Nidorino bucked and my head jerked to the side. My flames only grazed his ear, and Link had to dodge to the side to avoid my off-aim attack.

My fingers slipped and I flew head-over heels, landing heavily on my back. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and I gasped for breath.

I heard footsteps and knew that Nidorino was coming at me, easy target as I was. There was a flash as Link used Thundershock. I quickly rolled over and unleashed Ember. Both attacks hit at the same time, and Nidoran crashed to his side and skidded to a halt. I jumped to the side to get out of the way.

"That wasn't the most impressive battle I've seen," Tyranitar said, stepping out from the end of the maze. "Although you did win, at least."

"So, did we pass," Link asked.

Tyranitar nodded. "Yes, although this was the easiest level."

"That's what I figured," I sighed. "So, what about our mission then? Lucario said you had something for us to do."

"I do, but first let me give you your prizes." He held out two TM disks. "One's Endure, and one's Iron Tail. Both of you can learn either of these attacks, so I'll let you decide who gets what." I reached for Endure and Link took Iron Tail.

Tyranitar nodded. "Put them to good use on your first mission. Speaking of which, your first mission is a delivery." He led us out of the maze to a small room at the back of the building. He took a package wrapped in paper and handed it to me. "It's a part to a machine. You need to take it to Manectric. Link, do you have a map?"

Link pulled his map out of his bag and Tyranitar outlined our route. "It might take a few hours, but you should be able to make it back by the end of the day. If you don't want to risk traveling in the dark, you can stay with Manectric.

"It's a machine part?" I asked, turning the package over in my hand. "What's the machine for?"

Tyranitar wrinkled his nose. "I have no idea how it works. The machine is Manectric's contribution to the whole Mewthree thing, and some of us have been doing what we can to help her. I think it has something to do with diminishing Mewthree's powers? You can ask her to explain it."

I tucked the package into my bag and buttoned the flap shut.

"Do you have all the supplies you need? Tyranitar asked.

"Kangaskhan gave us a bunch of stuff," Link said.

"All we need is to pack some food," I said.

"Well, then if you don't have anymore questions, I think you guys can be off."

"I have one," I said, holding up my Endure TM. "How the heck do you use this thing?"


	14. Delivery Service

So, lots of big projects due. Another one due next week, as a matter of fact. Watch me stall by doing my long overdue fanfic!

Delivery Service

"Are you sure you didn't want Iron Tail?" Link asked.

"I think you'll use it better than I would," I replied. "I'm still not really used to having a tail."

Link laughed. "I suppose that's true."

Although now that I thought about it, I think I was just afraid of getting knocked out. Endure would help prevent that at least some. We continued walking along the trail to where we'd meet Manectric.

"By the way," I asked. "How far would you say we're going? I don't really know how long it takes to get there considering we're so, uh, small I guess."

Link looked at me oddly. "I keep forgetting how different everything must be to you. How long would it usually take you to walk a mile?"

"Hmm. You know, I've never really thought about it. I think if I went at a jog, it might take about ten minutes? So it's just a guess, but maybe 20 minutes walking?"

"Well, we've got a few miles to go, so it'll take maybe three or four hours," Link said. He hesitated. "I guess you haven't remembered anything, huh?"

"I'd tell you if I did."

"Yeah, I suppose so. I hope Manectric can help you."

I nodded, but even as I did so, I felt that my case was relatively hopeless. I tried to push the thought out of my mind. There was nothing to do but keep trying.

It was a long walk. Link and I fell in and out of conversation to help pass the time. We paused once or twice to rest. My leg was almost completely healed, but it still hurt a bit, mainly when I touched it.

"How far do you think we've gone?" I asked a while later. "I have no sense of distance. Or time, for that matter."

"I'd say we're probably three quarters of the way there," Link said, pulling the map out of his bag and opening it. "I'm just glad we haven't run into any danger yet, since we're so far from town. I guess it's fine since we're on the road." He tilted the map a bit to get his bearings. "Yeah, here we are."

I stopped abruptly and stood in the middle of the road. Link didn't notice, and continued walking.

I swallowed and glanced to the side of the path. Something didn't feel right. I turned my head, listening. Yes, I _had_ heard something. A faint scuffing sound, like something rubbing against the bark of a tree.

"What is it?" Link asked, finally noticing that I'd stopped.

I quickly held up my hand to silence him. Confused, he glanced around. He looked back at me, but I shook my head and gestured for him to remain still. I slowly pointed to the place where I'd heard the sound. Link nodded. He took a single step, and his cheeks sparked in preparation for Thundershock.

At that instant, something burst out of the bushes in a blur and shot straight at me. Startled, I threw myself to the side as the thing whistled past my head.

I turned around to get my bearings. Startled, Link let his Thundershock fizzle out. He glanced around to try to figure out what the thing was. Then I heard the whistling sound again, and the same object came spinning back from the opposite direction. In the second that it took me to realize that it was a boomerang, I knew I was too late to do anything about it.

"Link!" I shouted. But he hadn't seen the boomerang coming. It collided with the back of his head and sent him sprawling to the ground. I turned towards the bushes where our foe was hiding and blasted Ember at it. Something sprang out of the bushes and landed a few feet away from me. It straightened up, and I found myself facing a Tyrogue. It narrowed its eyes threateningly, and I noticed that his eyes were almost completely black.

I took a step back, wondering if the Tyrogue had any other weapons. Tossing my bag to the side, I opened my mouth and used Ember again, but Tyrogue sprang out of the way, doing a sort of one-handed cartwheel and landing directly in front of me. Startled, I staggered backwards and barely got my arms in front of me to block his attack. He struck at me with a flurry of punches and chops, driving me back and keeping me on the defensive. I managed to deflect several of his strikes and dodge others, but I knew immediately that I was outclassed. If I was a high level green belt, he was near black-belt level.

I winced as Tyrogue cuffed me against the head, and then kicked my knee, knocking me off balance. I staggered back and tripped over something. Somehow I managed to do a back roll (it's hard with a Charmander's big head) and come up to a crouch again. What I'd tripped over was Link's unconscious body.

My hand touched something on the ground and my fingers closed around it. The boomerang.

I held the boomerang out in front of me, wielding it like a crooked sword. Tyrogue hesitated for a moment, and I used that time to circle away from Link. I cursed myself as I did so. I'd reverted back to physical combat. This was what Tyranitar had been talking about. It was one thing to fight this way against Link, who had no martial arts training. But against a skilled opponent, I was useless.

Tyrogue dashed in, but I swung the boomerang to make him back off.

_Think! _I hissed at myself. _Use your stupid brain! _I have distance attacks. That thing doesn't have its boomerang anymore, so it can only attack close range. But he's faster than me. I'm not quick enough to hit him with Ember. Then I remembered the smokescreen orb that Link brought from the Kecleon brothers. Except it was tucked away in his bag. There was no way I could get to it without exposing myself to my foe.

I paused and mentally kicked myself. I _knew_ Smokescreen! I'd learned it while I was practicing at Tyranitar's gym!

Tyrogue sprang at me again. This time I unleashed a cloud of smoke, filing the air with eye-watering blackness.

I took several silent steps to the side so Tyrogue wouldn't know where I was. Then I shut my eyes and listened.

Tyrogue was trying to be quiet too. But when his foot scuffed against the dirt, I quickly turned in his direction and let out Ember. There was a startled cry and a frantic scrambling as Tyrogue dodged. I used Ember again, following the sounds of Tyrogue's footsteps. There was a cry of pain. I'd finally hit something.

I used Ember once more, aiming off to the side a bit. As Tyrogue fled, I circled around as quietly as I could.

The smokescreen was starting to disperse in the wind. A faint silhouette appeared in the ding air, and I made towards it. I ducked around behind Tyrogue and lifted the boomerang over my head. The moment I was within striking distance, Tyrogue turned to face me.

"Raaaa!" I shouted, bringing the boomerang down with all my strength onto Tyrogue's head.

The boomerang hit with a _thunk_ sound. Tyrogue tottered for a moment, and then crashed to the ground.

"Gaah!" I gasped, in a combination of relief and nerves. I stood there a moment, breathing heavily. Then I rushed over to Link and rolled him over onto his back. He let out a little moan, but didn't wake.

I went over to my bag and pulled out an Oran berry. Holding the berry above his mouth, I squeezed and let some of the juice trickle into his mouth. He swallowed and opened his eyes.

"Ugh, what happened?" he groaned, sitting up and placing a hand on the back of his head.

"You got hit by a boomerang," I said, holding the weapon up to show him.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Well, if you feel up to walking, I'd rather explain it as we move. I don't want to hang around here in case there's any other bandits around." I jabbed my thumb in the direction of Tyrogue.

"Shoot!" Link exclaimed as he realized what had happened. "I'm supposed to help during the fights, but I was out cold!"

"Not like you had a choice about it," I replied.

"The point is, I was no help at all."

"You can never account for random disasters," I said. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

We continued walking again, but Link still seemed rather sulky.

"Look, it's not a big deal," I said, exasperated. "The whole reason there's two of us is in case something like this happens."

"I suppose," Link agreed.

"I'm willing to bet that you'll be saving my tail plenty of times in the future."

Link laughed. "Okay. I'll owe you one then."

I raised an eyebrow. "In a job like this, I don't think keeping track will do us any good."

We continued on through the hilly landscape. As we progressed, the hills became taller and more rugged.

"We should be getting close," Link said. "Manectric lives in a cave on one of these hills. We need to look out for a small side trail that leads to where she is. It's near a river, apparently."

We found the trail and followed it to the base of a steep hill. A staircase hidden among the rocks, leading up the craggy slope. The cave opening was hidden in a small crevasse. Link and I stepped inside.

"Hello," Link called. "Is anyone here?"

There wasn't a reply.

Link and I exchanged glances.

"Well, we can go in," I suggested. "My tail will light the way."

We moved a little farther into the cave, but a moment later, there was a bright flash of light. Link and I threw ourselves to the side, avoiding the Thundershock attack.

Something came charging out towards us, sparking menacingly. Link and I quickly assumed battle-ready poses.

The Pokémon stopped a short distance from us. An Elekid.

"You're here to get the machine, aren't you?" he snarled.

"What? N-" Link started.

"I won't let you in! You'd better get out of here or you'll regret it!"

"That's enough!" A voice echoed from deeper in the tunnel.

Elekid turned towards it. "But they're strangers! What if they're here to break the machine?"

Another Pokémon came into the light, walking slowly and calmly. Manectric.

"Tyranitar told us he was sending someone to make a delivery," Manectric explained. "I told you that."

"But I've never seen these people before!" Elekid protested.

"That's enough!" Manectric said sternly. "Go back inside and continue working."

Grumbling in annoyance, Elekid turned and stomped back into the cave.

Manectric turned towards us. "I'm sorry about that. We do need to be careful about intruders, but Elekid tends to go a bit overboard. Now, I hear you have something for me."

"Right," I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out the package.

Manectric nodded. "Good, good. Would you like to come in and see what we're working on?"

Link and I agreed eagerly.

Manectric's mane began to spark, illuminating the tunnel. She led the way deep into the hill. Eventually the tunnel opened up into a cave. To one side, a sort of living quarters was set up. Elekid was moping, sprawled in a nest of blankets. To the other side of the cave, there was some strange half-formed skeleton of wires and gears.

Manectric walked up to it. "We still have a lot of work to do. And we need the power source for it, but we need to get in touch with some of our other allies first. Unfortunately they're not the easiest to track down."

"How does it work?" I asked, glancing at the strange contraption from different angles.

"Well, when it's all put together, the power source will get it running. And then we'll have a couple powerful psychic and dark Pokémon to direct it, and they'll be able to use their powers to suppress some of Mewthree's abilities. I won't know the full extent of what it's capable of until I get a little farther."

Staring at the strange tangle of cords and rods, it was hard to believe like it would be able to do any such thing.

"Could you place the new gear there," Manectric said, pointing her paw to a slot among the machine framework.

I unwrapped the paper and took out an oddly shaped gear. It looked like it was made partly out of Magnemite magnets. I slipped the gear into place.

Manectric nodded. "Very good. Now, were you going to try to make the return trip today, or do you want to stay the night before going back to Charm Town?"

"I think we should stay," I said. We'd had enough excitement for one day. We should rest before we risked the trip home.


	15. The Stranger in the Cave

Gasp gasp! Finally got my last big paper turned in! Hopefully now I'll be able to write more. Though I still got normal homework (and finals eventually).

Been looking forwards to writing this part for a long time. Nice to get it out of my system.

* * *

>The Stranger in the Cave<p>I knocked Link's foot out from under him and he tilted backwards towards the floor. He rolled along his back, like I taught him, and smacked the ground with his hands (smacking the floor seems like an odd thing to do, but it's supposed to relieve some of the pressure from your back. I just go with it). But as he hit the floor, his head snapped back.<p>

"Keep your head tucked in!" I exclaimed. "If you let it jerk back like that, your neck will hurt like crazy the next day."

Link nodded and climbed to his feet. "Okay. Let me try again." He repeated the fall, keeping his head tucked this time.

"Good. Falls are pretty simple. Eventually I'll teach you how to do front and back rolls too. Those can be trickier."

"This stuff's actually pretty fun to learn," Link said, letting himself fall backwards again. "But I've never been able to roll backwards before."

"You've probably been trying to roll over your head. It'll never work if you roll straight backwards."

I did a couple practice punches against the air. Aikido didn't focus on punches or kicks, so I must have practiced some other forms of martial arts as well.

"I'd think after what you told me about the Tyrogue," Tyranitar said, stepping into the arena, "that you'd be practicing more on your special attacks."

"I have been for the past half hour," I replied, kicking the air a couple times. "But now my throat hurts from breathing fire, so I'm teaching Link how to fall."

Tyranitar nodded. "Yes, that is an important thing to know, whether you know physical or special attacks. How are you coming with _your_ special attacks, by the way?"

I snorted. "I still can't beat Link."

"At least now I know how not to slam my back when you knock me over," Link added.

"Do you think you're ready for another mission now?" Tyranitar asked.

The week after our first mission was spent mainly in training. Link and I agreed that we should get in more battle practice before we headed out on another mission. But today the two of us nodded, agreeing that now we were ready to try again.

"Yeah, I think we're ready for the next mission," I said.

"It's good to make sure you're prepared," Tyranitar noted. "But I'm glad you're not spending too much time here. Otherwise you might never get out and make use of what you learn."

We laughed. "I think we're ready for a mission now," Link assured Tyranitar.

"Well, I have one for you then," Tyranitar informed us. We followed him out of the arena and he pulled a piece of paper off of a shelf. It was a drawing of a flower, like a tiny purple orchid with dark stripes on its petals. "Your little friend Caterpie is sick. They need these flowers to make medicine for her."

I took the paper from him and looked at the picture.

"Where can we find these flowers?" Link asked.

"Some actually grow in the foothills near where Manectric lives. They grow in the shade, so you should check beneath rocks or ledges."

I wasn't looking forward to another long walk, but Link nodded enthusiastically.

And so, once again, we set out on the long trek, though at least this was slightly shorter than the last one. And fortunately this time there were no Tyrogue.

We arrived at the foothills and began searching for the orchid flowers.

"I don't think this is going to be so easy," Link muttered as we climbed to the top of our second hill. "There aren't any rocks or cliffs around here for the orchids to grow under."

"Maybe we should go in a bit more. Remember how some of the hills were really craggy near where Manectric lived?"

"I guess so," Link agreed. "And I suppose if it starts to get late, Manectric will let us stay with her again."

"She probably would."

We'd left the road behind, so when we reached the bottom of the hill, we had to crawl through the valley of thick bushes.

"Hang on," I said as Link started to climb up the next hill. "Instead of climbing up and over all these hills, let's just skirt around the base of them." I was already panting from the hike and the heat of the sun.

"Right," Link said sheepishly. He backtracked to where I was waiting at the edge of the bushes. The two of us continued through the valleys for a few more minutes. Finally we came upon a place that had seen some sort of landslide long ago. Boulders were strewn about and part of the hill was caved in.

"Looks promising," I said, hurrying forwards.

I dropped to my knees near a pile of boulders and peered between them.

"I see them!" I exclaimed.

"Where?" Link cried, coming to my side.

I pointed to a small hollow deep between the rocks where a faint beam of sunlight fell on a patch of purple flowers.

"I think I can get in there," I muttered, crawling through the narrow gap. I crouched against the edge of the opening, trying not to crush the orchids. I picked a few of the flowers and tucked them in my bag. I paused.

"What is it?" Link asked.

"These flowers must be important, right? And they grow so far away. I'm going to dig one up and bring it back."

"Suit yourself," Link said, shrugging.

I reached into my bag for the box my lunch had been in. I carefully dug out one of the orchid bulbs, setting it inside the box. Then I slowly backed out of the little tunnel again.

"I'll need to get some water for it," I said, tucking the box into my bag. "And I'll have to be careful not to break it."

"I guess we can go home now, huh?"

"Yeah, the sooner the better, so I can plant this little guy."

I glanced back at the hill once more and stopped.

A cave had been carved in the bare area from the landslide. I hadn't noticed it before because I'd been staring at the ground, looking for flowers. It must have been dug out by some Pokémon when the bushes were plowed away by the slide.

"What are you doing?" Link asked as I took a step towards the opening.

"What if it's full of flowers?" I asked.

"But we already got flowers," Link said, moving to catch up with me.

I arrived at the tunnel entrance and peered inside. Although the sunlight was flowing partway into the cave, it took my eyes a minute to adjust.

It was a small cave, and ended about fifteen feet back from the entrance. The ceiling domed up above us. It was almost entirely bare.

But something was sitting in the shadows across from us. It was about the size of a human. It had pale purple skin and a purple tail that curled around behind it. Its head was bowed as though asleep, but it was hard to tell because it was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that shaded his face. He was also wearing a sort of cloak too.

Link suddenly dragged me backwards away from the opening, and I had to pinwheel wildly to avoid falling and crushing the flowers.

"What?" I demanded.

"That's Mewtwo," Link gasped, eyes wide in alarm.

"Mewtwo," I repeated. I swallowed, understanding what he meant. This thing must be in league with Mewthree.

"What do we do?" I asked nervously. "Run back and tell Lucario? Or Manectric? She's closer."

"He might be gone by the time we get word to them," Link whispered. He hesitated. "What if we tried to knock it out?"

"What?" I asked in alarm. "But isn't that thing supposed to be really strong? We could never be a match for it!"

"But it's asleep! And we wouldn't have to fight it directly. I got an orb from the Kecleon brothers that will put a Pokémon to sleep for a while. That way it wouldn't wake up and run away."

I hesitated, and then gave a reluctant nod. I didn't want to get involved with a Pokémon like this, but it also shouldn't be allowed to go free and wreak more havoc.

Link reached into his bag and pulled out the small blue sphere. We slowly crept to the cave entrance again.

A few feet in from the entrance, a large stone protruded from the ground. We dashed behind it and waited for a few seconds to make sure that Mewtwo hadn't woken up.

Then Link peered out from behind the rock and prepared to throw the orb. I shifted slightly to get a better look. But the moment the orb left Link's hand, my claws struck a loose piece of rock and it crumbled to the floor.

Mewtwo's eyes shot open, and instantly a blue bubble appeared around him, blocking the orb. It bounced across the cave and burst harmlessly against the far wall.

Link wasted no time, but sent out Thundershock. Following his led, I used Ember.

Our attacks never even got close. The shield negated both of them.

Suddenly a blue light enveloped Link and I, and I felt my feet leave the ground. His psychic powers! My bag dropped to the ground, and the flowers scattered across the cave floor. The potted orchid spilled to the ground.

Mewtwo clenched his face. Pain shot through me, making my body spasm. I grit my teeth and shut my eyes tightly. Besides me, Link gasped in pain.

"Who are you?" Mewtwo demanded, dropping his shield and stepping towards us. "Why did you attack me?"

Neither of us replied. Suddenly the pain intensified. It was ten times worse than any of Link's Thundershocks.

"Answer me!" Mewtwo shouted. "What do you want?"

I threw back my head and cried out, my body jerking involuntarily.

"Cara!" Link gasped.

Instantly the pain stopped. There was a brief sensation of falling, and then I crumpled to the ground.

"What did you say?" demanded the voice. Mewtwo stepped closer to us. "Tell me what you just said!"

Gasping for breath and flinching from the aftershocks of the attack, I slowly looked up at Mewtwo. He was staring down at us. His hat had blown off during the brief skirmish.

"I-I said 'Cara,'" Link whimpered.

"It's my name," I panted.

Mewtwo turned his eyes to me. He stared at me for half a minute, an odd expression on his face. His eyes flicked to the small scar beneath my right eye.

Mewtwo let out an annoyed huff and turned away from us. "It doesn't matter. You can't be her. Get out of here, now!"

Link staggered to his feet and grabbed my arm, tugging me upright. He tried to pull me out of the cave, looking frightened and anxious. But I shook him off.

I winced, but managed to take a step towards Mewtwo. I felt something stir inside me, calling me to act.

"What do you mean?" I demanded. "Who can't I be?"

"What are you doing?" Link hissed faintly. "We have to get out of here!" I ignored him.

"Who can't I be?" I repeated when Mewtwo didn't answer.

Mewtwo half turned his head towards me, looking annoyed. "You can't be Cara!"

"Why? Why can't I be?"

He narrowed his eyes angrily. "Because Cara is human."

Link's eyes widened in shock. I swallowed, feeling something icy squirm inside me. But I turned to Link and gave him a significant look. It didn't matter who this was. I needed answers about my past. Mewtwo might have them.

"I _am_ human."

Mewtwo snorted, looking away again. "Is the definition of 'human' different here? Not that it matters anyway. Cara would never behave like you."

I took a deep breath, and then decided to play all my cards.

"Listen! Two weeks ago, I woke up here. I didn't remember anything, except that I am human and that my name is Cara. I…" I took a deep breath and tried to still my shivering voice. "I want to know if you know who I am."

Very slowly, Mewtwo turned around to face me.

"You-you work for Mewthree, don't you?" Link exclaimed, stepping up beside me.

Mewtwo stared blankly at Link. "What?"

"Mewthree!"

"Mewthree," Mewtwo repeated. He suddenly looked stern again. "There's a Mewthree here?"

His reaction threw Link off. "You-you don't know about Mewthree?"

Mewtwo glanced between the two of us. "I'm not from this world. And, if you truly are Cara, then neither are you."

"Not-not from this world?" I repeated. Although this was a shock, I felt something of a weight lift from my heart. For a moment, I had been afraid that I was involved with Mewthree. But if I was from another world, then that was impossible, right?

"I'm going to try something," Mewtwo said. "Don't open your mouth."

"What?" But Mewtwo didn't respond. At least not with his voice. I heard a voice in my head. It was distinctly Mewtwo's, but he wasn't talking aloud.

_Can you hear me? _

The reply seemed to come naturally, though I never opened my mouth. _Yes. _

Mewtwo closed his eyes and took a step backwards. He raised a hand to his face. Then he slowly knelt and looked at me. "You are Cara. That voice is one I know well." The expression of relief was so unexpected that I had no idea how to react.

"We've been searching everywhere for you. We didn't know where to look, and you never answered our calls. We were afraid that…" He paused. "You really don't remember anything? Not Ben or Polaris? Or Twilight or Hari or anyone on Avalon?"

_Polaris. Twilight. Avalon. _The words rang in my head. Avalon: The name I chose for our team. Polaris: like the star on our rescue badge. Twilight: The name that came to me the first morning I woke up at Arcanine's house. I placed a hand against my head.

"Listen," Mewtwo said. "You fell between dimensions. Palkia is helping several of us search for you. He sent us to different dimensions to search for you. I thought when we found you that would be it. But this isn't simple." He shook his head. "Will you let me examine your mind? I want to find out about your memories."

Link looked doubtful. I hesitated, then nodded.

Mewtwo reached out and placed his hands on either side of my head, about an inch away from my skin. He closed his eyes. I did so too.

I flinched as I felt the presence in my head. But it didn't feel menacing. It felt almost… familiar. And somehow I wasn't afraid at all. I relaxed and let Mewtwo continue.

Finally he exhaled and sat back on the cave floor. He looked concerned.

"It's true. All of your technical knowledge is in place, but none of your memories of people, places, or events are there. Possibly your memories scattered when you fell through the dimension. It may be linked to you becoming a Pokémon."

"Can, uh, can I get my memories back?" I asked hopefully. "Will I be able to become human again?"

Mewtwo thought for a moment. "I may be able to find your memories. And I'm sure Palkia will be able to use the doorways between dimensions to turn you back into a human. But he went very deep to search for you. It may take me a while to track him down. We'll also need to find all of the others who came to search for you. Maybe I'll send them here to rendezvous. And then I'll need to track down your memories."

He saw me looking expectantly at him, and he sighed. "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about your previous life. If I do, it may interfere with how you receive your true memories. It's better to keep your past a blank slate so your memories can easily slip into place." He looked apologetic.

I sighed, but quickly shook off my disappointment. "No. I mean, you being here, well, that's something, right? All this time I had nothing to go on. Now at least there's someone who knows me." I knit my eyebrows. "Are you really going to fly around the dimensions to find my memories?" How could I ask someone to that for me? From all I knew, this guy was practically a stranger. But that was stupid. The fact that he was willing to go through all this was certain proof that he was certainly _not _a stranger.

Mewtwo smiled. "I suppose this won't mean much to you now, but you've always counted on me to protect everyone. You trusted me, and now I'm asking you to do it once more. I'll make sure I find all of your memories."

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Instead I felt something hot prick the corners of my eyes.

"I didn't come here alone," Mewtwo continued, apparently oblivious to me brushing my eyes clear. "Another friend of yours is here too. She's far to the west of here. I'll let her know that you're coming, and when you get close, she'll track you down. She can keep an eye on you while I'm away. I'll find the others and send them here as well." He stood up, retrieved his hat, and started walking towards the entrance to the cave. "Sorry I attacked you, by the way. I'm a bit on edge from everything that's been going on recently."

I found my voice again.

"Wait, Mewtwo?"

He turned back to me.

"What kind of person am I?"

He smiled. "I suggest you ask your friend there." I turned to look at Link, and he smiled reassuringly. When I turned back to Mewtwo, he had gone.


	16. I Fought Him

It's almost summerrrrr! Sooo relieved. This semester is probably the hardest I've ever done. Blehhhh. Hopefully I'll be able to do more work on my fanfic once finals end next week.

I Fought Him

I was smiling, and felt more excited than I could remember feeling. But I shook my head. "We can't do that."

"Why not?" Link asked, startled, his hand frozen in the air.

I reached down and picked up one of the orchid flowers that was scattered across the cave floor. "We need to get these back to Caterpie, remember?"

"Oh, right, right," Link said, lowering his arm. "Right," he repeated.

I remained kneeling on the cave floor, holding the orchid blossom. I wasn't quite sure what to think. I finally had something to hold on to. My old life was within reach once more. But I had no idea what to make of it. Mewtwo? Another universe?

I started as the orchid slipped from my fingers and landed on the floor. I shook my head and quickly began gathering the scattered blossoms. Link knelt to help me.

I walked over to where the plant had spilled to the ground. The dirt sprayed across the stone floor, and the fragile plant was beginning to wilt. I quickly began scooping the dirt back into the box and pressing it in around the orchid's roots. When I got it some water and planted it, it would probably be fine.

"Come on. Let's get going," I said. "We can head west tomorrow to look for whoever is waiting for us."

Link nodded, looking determined. We tucked the blossoms into Link's bag and left the cave.

…

We returned to Charm Town and brought the flowers to Chansey. We watched as she ground them into paste and mixed them with berry juices. Then the three of us went to Caterpie's house.

We knocked at the door and a Butterfree and Beautifly came to greet us. They looked rather anxious. The sight of Chansey seemed to relieve them.

"One of our rescue teams brought the medicine ingredients," Chansey said cheerily.

"Thank you," Butterfree said, bowing her head. "And you're the ones who helped Caterpie before, aren't you?"

"Caterpie is this way," Beautiful said.

We followed them into the house to where a little nest of leaves was set up. I peered down into it to see Caterpie curled up with a few leaves scattered over her. She was shivering in her sleep, and her breathing rasped every now and then.

Chansey stepped forwards and lifted Caterpie's head. She tipped a small bowl of medicine and let some trickle into Caterpie's mouth. Caterpie swallowed, but didn't open her eyes.

"She'll be okay," Chansey said, laying Caterpie down again. "Give her this dosage every other hour today. And then once a day for the rest of the week. She should be fine by then. But make sure to let her rest until she's ready to get up on her own."

Butterfree and Beautifly nodded, looking relieved.

"Thank you so much to all of you," Butterfree said, as the two of them escorted us out."

"No problem," Link replied, grinning.

His mood was catching. Not that I wasn't happy, but I was also a bit confused and torn between everything that had happened today. Seeing Link so openly cheerful about everything helped me relax a bit.

Butterfree and Beautifly bid us farewell, and Chansey went back to her clinic.

"We should go and tell Lucario what we found out," Link said.

"I have to do one thing first. Let's get back to Arcanine's house."

Link looked confused, but followed me. When we got home, I found a shady area and dug a hole. I placed the orchid in the ground and pushed dirt in around the roots.

Link ran inside and got a glass of water. He poured it onto the ground so it could soak into the roots. We grinned at each other.

Although it was starting to get dark, we rushed over to Lucario's office to try to catch him before bed.

We knocked and waited. It was a minute before Lucario appeared at the door.

Lucario blinked down at us, looking rather tired.

"Were you asleep already?" Link asked, apologetically.

Lucario shook his head and sighed. "No. I haven't been getting much sleep lately."

"Why not?" Link asked.

Lucario massaged the side of his head. Looking at him closer, I noticed that he did seem to have lines under his eyes. "I've been doing a lot of work for the whole Mewthree business. Running errands and researching and such."

"Oh, yeah," Link and I said in unison. I felt stupid. Here we were, excited for such small things, when these Pokémon had Mewthree to worry about.

"Maybe we should come back later then," I said, taking a step away from the door.

"I was needing a break about now anyway," Lucario failed to hide a yawn. "Come on in."

"It's not that important-" I started, but Link tugged me inside.

As we walked towards his desk, Lopunny appeared.

"I thought you were going to get to sleep early tonight," she scolded as she saw Lucario up and about.

"It's still early," Lucario replied. "Besides, Honchkrow is supposed to deliver a book to me tonight."

"Which you will no doubt spend all night reading. You won't be doing anyone any favors if you pass out from exhaustion during the middle of something important."

"I am well aware of my limits, Lopunny." This seemed to be an ongoing argument between the two of them, because Lucario looked a bit harassed at the exchange.

Lopunny let out a sigh. "I'll make some tea for you, at least." She started to walk away, but turned back to us. "And don't you stay up all night!"

Lucario let out a small chuckle as Lopunny left. He collapsed into his chair.

"So, how are you two doing, anyway? I haven't seen you in a while." He turned to me. "I've sent out word to some of my friends, but those who have replied don't know anything."

"Actually, that's why we're here," Link said.

"We found something ourselves," I added, smiling.

Lucario sat up and smiled. "Did you? That's good to hear. Nice to know that some things are going well."

"Are things against Mewthree not going well?" I asked.

Lucario heaved a deep sigh and shook his head.

"Mewthree is currently up north. There's another town up there that's trying to hold him back, but he keeps gaining more territory and possessing more Pokémon as he goes. We just received word that a large number of our comrades were taken by his magic."

Link and I exchanged alarmed glances.

Lopunny came in and set a tray on the table. She turned and left. I took the offered mug of tea and sipped it.

Lucario shook his head. "Anyway, that's not why you came here, is it? Tell me the good news. What did you find out?"

"Weellll," I muttered, wondering where to start. "Have you ever heard of Palkia? He can travel between different dimensions and stuff?"

"Of course," Lucario said.

"Um, well," I broke off and gave a nervous laugh. "It turns out I came from another dimension."

Lucario's ears twitched and he looked at me incredulously.

"It's true," I said quickly. "Well, I was told it's true, anyway. Apparently I fell through a hole Palkia made. So Palkia is helping my friends look for me." The story felt incredibly lame and unbelievable.

"I mean, it makes sense though, right?" Link pitched in. "Her turning into a Pokémon? Have you ever heard of anything like that happening before? But if she fell to a place that had no humans – like here – maybe she would stop being human too. And the strain of something like that might be enough to scatter memories."

"Yeah. My friend left to find my memories," I added.

"So, who is this friend?" Lucario asked. "How can he pass through dimensions unharmed while you can't? And how does he expect to find memories?"

I swallowed. "Uh, well…" I didn't think it would be a good idea to mention Mewtwo, considering all the trouble they were going through involving Mewthree.

"It's a legendary Pokémon," Link said.

Lucario raised his eyebrows. "Legendary, huh? And you're not going to tell me which one?"

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

"Not if you don't want to tell me."

"If it ends up being important, I'll tell you," I promised.

"Fair enough," Lucario said, taking a sip of tea. "Anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"Yeah." I set my mug down. "Apparently another of my friends is here. I know where to look for her, and we were going to search tomorrow. She's to the west of here."

"All right. Make sure you have enough supplies. Most of the danger is north, but that doesn't mean that west is completely safe. Do you want an escort?"

"I think we can manage," I replied.

We heard a door open and shut. Lopunny greeted someone in the entrance hall, and an unfamiliar voice replied.

"Ah, he's here," Lucario said, standing up. He started to leave the room, but turned back to us. "Did you need anything else?"

"No, we're good," I said.

Lucario nodded. "All right. Good luck tomorrow."

Link and I left the office and found Lucario, Lopunny, and Honchkrow standing together. Honchkrow held out his foot and handed a book to Lucario.

Lucario accepted it. "Thanks. This should help fill some of the gaps in our plan."

"You look tired," Honchkrow noted.

"That's because he hasn't been sleeping," Lopunny said with an annoyed huff.

"Is that so?" Honchkrow said, raising his eyebrows. "You won't be doing much good if going without sleep makes you sloppy."

"This is what I keep telling him," Lopunny sighed, looking exasperated.

Honchkrow laughed. "Be careful, Lucario. You don't want to get this one angry." He waved a wing at Lopunny. Lucario smiled.

"Hmph," Lopunny muttered, looking away.

Then Honchkrow spotted Link and I. "Oh, hey there. Looks like I'm not the only late-night visitor."

"Yes," Lucario said, stepping up to introduce us. "This is Link and Cara. They just started a rescue team. They came to report on their second mission."

"Is that so? Congratulations," Honchkrow said, stepping towards us and smiling. He held out his wing, and Link shook it. I took it next, grabbing onto the end primary feather.

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked. "I've only seen you around here recently."

"Yeah," I said. "I'm from pretty far away. I came to stay with Link for a while."

"And thought you'd start a rescue team in the meantime? Good idea. There's been a lot of trouble around recently."

"These are the two that rescued Caterpie a couple weeks ago" Lucario explained. And today, they brought us medicine for her."

Honchkrow nodded. "Sounds like you're off to a good start. Keep up the good work."

Link fidgeted, and as Honchkrow turned away, Link blurted, "is it true that you fought Mewthree?"

Honchkrow looked down at Link, and a strange expression flashed across his face. Then he heaved a deep sigh and turned away.

"Yes. I fought him, together with my team. We were all dark types, and we were very high levels. We thought we stood a chance. But he wiped us out in less than a minute. I couldn't walk or fly after the first strike. I jumped into a river to escape, which is the only reason I'm here today."

"Your teammates…" I started, but trailed off.

"Mightyena, Weavile, and Drapion. If they're still alive, then either they're prisoners, or under Metwthree's influence."

"Wasn't Tyranitar part of your team?" Link asked.

"He was?" I asked surprised.

"Used to be," Honchkrow said. "He left the team to take over the gym."

"So he didn't go with you?" I asked.

Honchkrow shook his head. "He would have come, but he'd hurt his leg beforehand and couldn't make the journey."

"I guess it's good that he hurt his leg then," I pointed out.

Honchkrow gave a wry smile and nodded. "I suppose so. Otherwise we might have lost him too, eh? I suppose he is one of the strongest three Pokémon in Charm Town, so he's important to help defend the place. "

I was willing to bet that the other two strongest Pokémon were Lucario and Honchkrow.

"Anyway," Honchkrow continued, "I'd better be leaving. Lucario looks like he needs some sleep. Good luck with your team," he said, waving a wing at us. He turned and left.

"Is he helping with the fight against Mewthree?" I asked.

"Yes, he's been a great help," Lucario sighed. "Especially since he's the only one with a first-hand account of Mewthree's powers."

"Oh. Okay. Good night then," Link said.

"Good night," I chimed in.

"Good night," Lucario and Lopunny chorused.

Link and I waved them farewell and headed back to Arcanine's house.

I pressed a hand against my head.

"What's wrong?" Link asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. I just realized that I have a bit of a headache. It's not bad."

"It will probably be gone by the morning," Link assured me.

I nodded.


	17. Many Faces

Kudos to anyone who gets the Sokka reference. Because Link (Legend of Zelda Link, not Link from my fanfic) isn't the only one to make awesome use of boomerangs.

When I played the first Rescue Team game, I was a Pikachu with a Charmander partner. When I played Explorers of Time, I was a Charmander with a Mudkip. And When I played Explorers of the sky (not realizing it was identical to Time/Darkness) I was an Eevee with a Riolu. It was a very challenging team, because neither of us learned any distance attacks. We could only attack opponents right next to us. A real pain at some times. A good challenge though. I'm just glad my first play-through wasn't like that.

Many Faces

The next morning, Link and I gathered our supplies and took the west road.

"I hope this Pokémon knows how to find us," I sighed. "I don't fancy having to wander all around Naratay trying to find her."

"Me either," Link agreed. "Not with all the crazy Pokémon running around. Lucario said that there are quite a few dangerous ones on the way, but they shouldn't be too strong if we stay on the path."

"Which makes me wonder if he would have classified that Tyrogue as strong," I said, smirking.

"Good point," Link replied with a hollow laugh. "I'm not sure I'd classify us as strong either."

"We can use this to even our odds," I said, very seriously, as I reached into my bag and pulled out a flat object.

"Is that the boomerang?" Link asked, laughing. "You kept it?"

"Yeah. Look how well that Tyrogue used it."

"Got me with it pretty well," Link agreed, massaging the back of his head where the boomerang had hit him. "Try throwing it," he suggested.

"I've never thrown one before," I said. "It's it hard to learn?"

"Yeah, kinda," Link agreed.

I gave a couple practice flicks of my wrist, and then tossed the boomerang like a Frisbee. It spun away, and then landed with a puff of dust on the road far ahead of us.

I laughed. "Guess I need more practice."

We arrived at the place where the boomerang had landed, and Link picked it up. He flicked his wrist a couple times, and then hurled the boomerang. It spiraled rapidly away, arced around, and returned to Link, who caught it.

"Boomerang!" I exclaimed. "You do always come back!"

Link raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, it's just a line from a show," I explained.

"A show?" Link repeated. "You mean like a play?"

That question stumped me. I didn't feel like trying to explain TV or cartoons, so I just nodded.

We walked for a couple hours. A Stunky and Yanma jumped us, but we were able to chase them off without much trouble.

Finally the road arrived at a wide, sparkling blue lake.

"Oooh," I said, gazing out over the rippling waters. "This is beautiful!"

"It's called Misty Lake," Link explained. "In the morning, the whole area is covered in a thick mist. If you climb to the top of that hill," he pointed to a rise off to one side of the lake, "you can see over the top of the fog and it's really amazing."

"Why don't we climb up there to eat lunch," I suggested. "We can wait there for a while to see if the Pokémon we're looking for can find us. Otherwise we'll have to go farther."

Link nodded in approval, so, we made our way towards the grassy hill. I noticed that there was a single tree growing at the top of it, but it had died, leaving behind a weather-worn trunk and a few bare branches.

As we climbed further up the hill and rose above the level of the forest, I gazed off into the distance. Far to the north I saw the hazy outlines of a towering mountain range.

"That's Mount Labyrinth," Link explained. "It's supposed to be a dangerous place at the best of times, but now Mewthree is said to be hiding somewhere up there."

"Mewthree," I muttered, as we paused halfway up the hill. "Mewthree and Mewtwo. Both from different worlds. I wonder how they came about. I must have once known about Mewtwo. I wish I could remember." I banged my skull with my fist, frustrated with my amnesia.

"It's strange," Link agreed. "Mewtwo seemed like a pretty neat Pokémon. He did attack us, but that was kind of our fault. But Mewthree," Link continued, shaking his head. "What could make a Pokémon so evil?"

"Nothing could ever be created evil. It must become evil." I gazed off at to the distant mountains. "What happened to Mewthree, I wonder. What made him evil."

We continued up the hill and made for the dead tree. My eyes strayed up to the bare branches, and I noticed a Pokémon perched on one of the lower limbs. A Noctowl. Its head swiveled around and its eyes fixed on us. Link hadn't noticed, and continued walking. But I paused and stared up at the Noctowl. For several seconds, our gazes remained locked. Then Noctowl suddenly leapt from the tree and swooped down straight towards me.

Link spun around in alarm as the large shape flew over him. I let out a startled cry and turned to run (forgetting to use fire to defend myself). But Noctowl, of course, was faster. With a _whumph_, it collided with me and engulfed me with its wings. The two of us tumbled to the ground, rolling over and over. We came to a halt and I wriggled to get free. But surprisingly I didn't feel claws or beak strike me.

And then…

"Cara! Cara!" The Noctowl exclaimed, sounding relieved.

I looked back at the Noctowl, startled. She opened her wings and let me go. I took a step back. "Are-are you the one we're supposed to meet?" Link dashed up to my side, cheeks sparking. But I held out a hand to stop him.

Noctowl began to glow and change shape. She shrank, and the wings disappeared. The tail lengthened and ears sprouted. Finally, floating in front of us, was Mew.

"Mew!" Link exclaimed. "Cara, you know both Mewtwo _and_ Mew?"

I was just as shocked as he was. I could only shrug in reply.

Mew gave a sad sigh. "So it's true. You _have_ forgotten all of us."

"Yeah," I muttered. "And the most frustrating part is that even though you're here, I can't let you tell me anything about my past."

Mew nodded. "That's right. Mewtwo mentioned that it might interfere with your mind accepting your old memories. And you can't leave until Palkia can figure out how to get you back to your proper shape. So it seems we're stuck here until Mewtwo and Palkia come for us."

"There's plenty to do while we're here though," I assured her. "By the way, this is my friend, Link."

"Hi," Link said. "Nice to meet you."

"He helped me when I woke up as a Charmander with no memories. And he gave me a place to stay too. We even formed a Rescue Team. We do missions to help people out."

"Oh?" Mew said, interested. "Sounds like fun."

"Parts of it, maybe. But there's a problem. Have you ever heard of anything called Mewthree?"

Mew stared at me. "You-you're kidding, right?" She asked uncertainly.

"Don't I wish," Link groaned.

Link and I explained about how Mewthree was possessing Pokémon and making Naratay dangerous for everyone.

Mew shook her head in shocked disbelief. "Unbelievable," she muttered. "Mewtwo wasn't enough for them? They had to go even further?"

"It's said that they gave Mewthree some of your powers that Mewtwo never achieved," Link explained. "Like Teleport, Transform, and the ability to use every attack."

Mew looked up at me. "Listen Cara, I want to help, but whenever Mewtwo and Palkia come, we need to leave. Although that may be fore a while. So we can do what we can until then. And I don't know if Mewtwo told you, but we're only two of several Pokémon that came to look for you. When Mewtwo finds them, he'll either send them here, or send them home. So, we may have their help for a short time as well."

"Do," I started, "Do you think you might be able to defeat Mewthree?"

Mew hesitated. "I know you don't remember this, but Mewtwo and I once fought. He was like no opponent I'd ever faced. His psychic powers were capable of things I'd never though possible, and he didn't even use most of them during the fight. The fight never was truly decided because…" she shook her head, "because you nearly died. But from what you've told me of this Mewthree, I don't think I'd stand a chance."

"Oh," I muttered, dejected.

"If Mewtwo gets here before Palkia, maybe all of us can team up and see what we can do," Mew offered. "You have friends here now, huh?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Well, then we'll do whatever we can to help your friends."

"That's great," Link said brightly. "Thanks!"

"So, while we wait for the others to arrive," Mew continued, "we can do some of those missions you were talking about. See what we can do to help. And then when one of our friends shows up, we can go and track them down."

"Are you going to join our Rescue Team?" I asked.

"I suppose I'd better," Mew said, nodding. "Sounds like it's dangerous around here. And if I do say so myself, there's not many Pokémon that can match me."

"I bet!" Link exclaimed. "This is great! Mew on our Rescue Team!"

"There's just one problem," I said. "Wouldn't it be kind of strange for a Pokémon like you to join an amateur Rescue Team like ours? And someone may think you're associated with Mewthree."

"That's not a problem." Mew began to glow, and a moment later a Mudkip was sitting in front of us. "And now your team is even more balanced!"

"Awesome!" Link exclaimed. "Hey, you can teleport, right? Can you teleport us back to Charm Town?"

"I can't teleport somewhere that I've never been," Mew explained. "But I do have a good idea!"

Mew used Transform once more, this time becoming a Charizard.

"Hop on!" She said, lowering herself to the ground and offering her shoulder. "You can get around much faster now!"

"Awesome!" Link exclaimed. "Now you're talking!"


	18. The Coast Road

Aaand, this is where I need to fill in the massive gaping holes left by my ancient notes. I just gotta figure out which part would work best for this chapter.

Sorry for falling behind again, guys. TT^TT And All my chapters feel pretty short too.

The Coast Road

I ended up sharing my room with Mew. Which was fine, since it was surprisingly nice to have someone to curl up with. She kept her Mudkip form during the rest of the day, keeping up her disguise. But when she fell asleep, she reverted to her Mew form. No doubt the sound of our door opening would be enough to wake her so she could resume her Mudkip disguise.

The next morning, our team of three went down to have breakfast with the rest of Arcanine's tenants. Most of the others hadn't met her yet, so we went through introductions.

"Are you going to train at Tyranitar's gym this morning?" Poochyena asked.

Link nodded. Poochyena and Zigzagoon were the only other Rescue Team at Acrcanine's place. All of the other Pokémon here worked around Charm Town. They weren't the highest level, but they did have a lot of missions under their belt.

"Can we come, huh?" Zigzagoon asked, tail swaying back and forth. "We haven't trained with him in a while, and we thought it would be fun to spar with you guys."

"Sounds fun," Mew agreed. "I want to try battling the Tyranitar guy. If he's the head of a dojo, he must be good."

"Of course he's good!" Zigzagoon exclaimed. "One of the toughest Pokémon in Charm Town! Honchkrow and Lucario too."

Poochyena eyed the Mudkip, disbelieving. "You might want to evolve before you try challenging him."

Mew shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see."

The five of us headed to the dojo. Zigzagoon chatted excitedly about their last mission to take down a gang of Sableye. Poochyena walked along with us, quiet and stoic.

Honchkrow was already at the gym, talking with Tyranitar. They looked up as we entered.

"Here to train?" Tyranitar asked. He gestured to the arena, indicating that we should go in without him. I started to walk in with the others, but realized that Mew hadn't followed us.

She walked up to Honchkrow, who looked down at her oddly.

"I heard that you're two of the strongest Pokémon in the area," Mew said. "I was wondering if I could try to battle one of you."

"Um," I started. No doubt she could defeat them, even if she was psychic and they were dark (though technically right now she was a water-type).

Mew glanced back at me. _Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. _It took me a moment to realize that she was using the same telepathy that Mewtwo had used on me. _I want to test how strong they are, but more important, I want them to know how strong I am. If we really want to help these Pokémon before we go home, we need to show them how strong we are. Then they'll trust us to do more to help them. _

I hesitated, but nodded.

Honchkrow raised his eyebrows at the request. "Battle us?"

"She's a lot better than you'd expect," I chipped in. Link nodded.

"You can go easy on me, if you think you need to," Mew suggested. "Whichever of you wants to go is fine."

Tyranitar and Honchkrow exchanged glances, no doubt thinking that Mew was severely overconfident.

"I suppose a sparring match couldn't hurt," Honchkrow said, leading us into the arena.

Mew faced him, and the rest of us stood to the side of the arena, watching. I hoped Mew wouldn't make a mistake and use a move that Mudkip couldn't learn.

Honchkrow waited for Mew to make the first move. She shrugged, and hopped forwards. When she opened her mouth. Hydro Pump rushed out in a flood and slammed into the startled Honchkrow. The force of the attack took him completely off-guard and sent him slamming backwards into the wall.

Mew waited as Honchkrow stood up and shook himself off. I half expected him to claim that Mew had gotten in a lucky shot. Instead he narrowed his eyes. But when he stepped forward he sighed. "It appears as though I have underestimated you. I suppose we should both agree not to hold back."

"Sounds good to me," Mew agreed.

When Honchkrow was ready, the two resumed the match.

Honchkrow launched forwards and reached down with his talons, ready to snatch Mew off the ground. Mew danced lightly to the side, missing the claws by an inch. She blasted out several shots of Water Gun, which hit Honchkrow and knocked him off balance. He wheeled around and dove in to use Night Slash. I flinched, wondering how the dark–type attack would effect Mew. Beside me, Link, Poochyena, and Zigzagoon were watching in amazement.

Mew sprang straight into the air and used Ice Beam straight down on Honchkrow's unprotected back. Shards of ice shattered in all directions and frost coated Honchkrow's feathers. Honchkrow let out a cry and crashed to the ground. Mew landed behind him.

Honchkrow staggered to his feet and ruffled his feathers. "I give," he muttered.

"Very impressive." Tyranitar looked quite as shocked as the rest of us to see Honchkrow surrender.

"That was great!" Zigzagoon exclaimed. "I can't wait to tell Furrett and Pachirisu about it!"

"Why haven't you evolved yet?" Honchkrow asked. "Seems like you should have become a Swampert long ago."

Mew shrugged. "I don't need to be big to win. Small can be powerful too. And I know other un-evolved Pokémon that can take on anything."

"Mm," Honchkrow said.

"Have you registered Mudkip as part of your team yet?" Tyranitar asked.

"Not yet," I said.

"We're gonna head over there later today," Link added.

"Maybe I'll go over with you," Tyranitar suggested. "I can give Lucario a report of your progress," he gestured to Link and I "and let him know ho strong your new friend is. It might get you involved in some more interesting missions."

Mew shot me an amused glance, and I grinned at her.

"Where are you from, anyway?" Honchkrow asked Mew.

"I'm from around where Cara lives. We've been good friends for a while."

"I see," Honchkrow said, raising an eyebrow. "Anyway, I must be going. Thanks for the match. Obviously I have some work to do if I want to keep my reputation."

Mew laughed. "I'll fight Tyranitar, if you like, and see how I compare to him."

Tyranitar chuckled. "Somehow I don't think it'll end much differently than this one did. Well, since we're all here, why don't we get to training for a while?"

…

Tyranitar accompanied us over to Lucario's office after training. As Mew filled out her paperwork, Tyranitar told Lucario about the battle.

"Actually," Lucario said, signing off on the flier to add Mew to the team, "If you're as good as Tyranitar says, I have an assignment for you. I need to visit some of our allies to the south of here. It will be a rather long trip, and I could use your help. It's safer to travel in numbers right now."

"Is this to help the fight against Mewthree?" Link asked excitedly.

Lucario nodded. "Manectric asked me to pick up the energy source for her machine. It's being held for me at Treasure Town. It's important enough that I need to go myself. The three of you can help out if there's a battle. And it will be good training for you." He gestured to Link and I.

"Awesome!" Link exclaimed. "It feels good to be doing something useful."

Lucario smiled. "We'll probably be gone for about four days. It's a long walk, so make sure you pack everything you need. We'll be able to stop at the rest point along the way. We've been trying to keep them safe from the possessed Pokémon. A lot of the rescue teams that we usually have are working on that full-time. That's why you don't see many of them around here."

"I was wondering about that," I admitted. Poochyena and Zigzagoon are the only other team that seems to hang around. The others just drop by every now and then."

Tyranitar nodded. "To restock on supplies and change shifts and such. The rest stops along the coastal road are important. We've already had to abandon some of the northern-most ones, so we want to keep the rest safe. We might have you doing some security and surveillance for them eventually."

It didn't sound like it would be very thrilling, but I nodded anyway.

"So then," Lucario said, "why don't the three of you get a good night rest tonight. Pack whatever you need, and meet me here tomorrow morning."

…

"The biggest pain about a Charmander body," I groaned the next morning, "is walking. A four-day trip? You've gotta be kidding!"

"I'd be happy to fly us if we didn't have Lucario," Mew said. But I've gotta accompany you on my stubby legs too."

"And what about me?" Link asked. "It's not like I'm any taller than you."

"At least you're used to being short."

He laughed.

We arrived at Lucario's place. He was obviously watching for us, because he emerged a moment later with a bag slung across his shoulder.

"Ready?" He inquired.

We nodded.

"Very well. Let's be off." He started walking down the road, and the three of us followed him.

When an entire day is devoted to walking, things get really… boring. Lucario probably could have walked on almost nonstop, but Link and I needed to rest often.

"I could evolve into a Swampert if you'd like me to carry you?" Mew offered.

"I might just take you up on that," I said wryly.

When we stopped that evening, a few Combee jumped us. They were a fairly low level, so Lucario had Link and I fight them. I wasn't used to fighting multiple opponents, so I had a tough time. Link covered me. His Thunderbolt took out almost all of them.

I managed to knock out the last Combee. I leaned against a tree, out of breath. I heard the rustle in the bushes, but had no chance to react.

Lucario sprang forwards and struck out with his foot, catching me in the side. I tumbled away and landed in a tangle in a bush.

The Vespiquen rushed out of the forest, buzzing angrily, preparing to slash with her claws. Lucario ducked beneath her swipe and released a quick flurry of blows. When Vespiquen backed off, Lucario used Aura Sphere, blasting her unconscious.

I scrambled out of the bush, dazed. "Whoa, I almost got hit by that, didn't I? Thanks."

Lucario nodded. "This is why traveling in numbers helps. Sorry about the kick though. I couldn't think of anything else that would get you out of the way in time."

"It's fine."

By late afternoon, we reached the rest stop. It was a small building. The front was a restaurant, and the back had some beds.

"This is the mid-way point between Charm Town and Treasure Town," Lucario said, leading us inside.

There were only four other Pokémon in the place. Roselia and Lombre seemed to run the place. The rescue Team that guarded the place consisted of Doduo and Quagsire. They greeted us as we entered. They obviously knew Lucario, who went over to talk to them.

"It feels so nice to not be walking!" I collapsed at one of the tables. "Mew," I said in a hushed voice, "You should have pretended that you were a Pidgeotto or something. Then no one would notice if you flew us around."

"If you evolve, we won't have that problem at all." Mew grinned.

"It seems like you should have evolved by now," Link said. "I wonder why you're still a Charmander?"

"Maybe it's because her body isn't a normal Pokémon body?" Mew suggested.

I shrugged. "It must be really weird to evolve."

Link look at me oddly. "That's true. When you evolve into a Charizard, you'll be a lot bigger than me. Even if I evolve into a Raichu."

"Good point." I was so used to Link being the same size as me that I couldn't imagine what it would be like to tower over him. "Although I guess Charizard is closer to my actual size. I'd normally be a lot bigger than you."

"You were never as big as a Charizard," Mew pointed out.

"I know that!"


	19. Treasure Town

Someone suggested that I link this part of my fanfic to the Rescue Team games. I would have liked to include Grovyle and Celebi, but because of the whole time travel thing, that wouldn't really work. In Explorers of Sky, (spoilers) they said that Grovyle and Celebi miraculously survived even when the future was changed. Don't get me wrong. I like the characters. But I think the fact that they all survived the way they did was cheating (the main character surviving is enough cheating, without all the other characters surviving too). So, since I'm not sure I buy that whole future scenario, I guess I'll just stick with Treasure Town.

Treasure Town

We arrived at Treasure Town just before noon the next day. It was quite like Charm Town. The shop was even run by Kecleon, apparently cousins to the shopkeepers at Charm Town.

"We'll stay here until tomorrow morning," Lucario informed us. "That will give you a chance to rest. The guild has some guest rooms we can use."

The guild was on the outskirts of town, and for some reason, was shaped like a Wigglytuff. We approached the building, and I eyed the giant Wigglytuff face dubiously. I didn't notice at first when I stepped on a wooden grate. So when a voice echoed up from beneath us, I took a step backwards in alarm.

"Lucario, Pikachu, Mudkip, and Charmander approaching!"

I glanced down at the wooden grate under us and found that there was a pit beneath. Some Pokémon was standing down there, identifying all visitors.

I hurried to catch up to Lucario. Mew and Link, who had gotten ahead of me.

Once we were inside, a Chatot fluttered up to greet us. "Welcome," he squawked to Lucario. "We've been expecting you. Wigglytuff asked me to show you in when you arrived." He glanced at Link, Mew, and I. "Who are your friends here?"

"A new rescue team," Lucario explained. "I brought them along to get some experience. But they can hear what we have to say. They became a rescue team so they could help with the whole crisis."

Chatot cocked his head. "Very well. This way."

He lead us to the room, and Wigglytuff was sitting there, waiting for us.

"Lucario!" He cried, prancing across the room to greet him. "So good to see you!" He spoke with a rather loud, flamboyant voice that made Link, Mew and I exchange amused glances.

Lucario's half-smile suggested that Wigglytuff's oddness wasn't new to him. "It's good to see you too. How are things holding up around here?"

"Fairly well. We're a bit farther from the disaster area than you are, so we don't have it as bad as you. Fewer attacks, at least. But they're happening more often now."

"Same," Lucario sighed. "Seems that Mewthree is slowly getting more power." He paused for a moment. "Right," he continued. "I wrote you a while ago concerning a Pokémon who lost her memory."

"Oh, true," Wigglytuff agreed, nodding vigorously. "Much like a case we had several years ago, which I suppose is why you contacted me. An Eevee was found on the beach with no memories. Although it turned out she wasn't an Eevee at all, but a human turned into a Pokémon."

"What?" I blurted.

Wigglytuff turned to look at me. "Are you the human?"

"Uh," I said.

Lucario nodded. "I told Wigglytuff most of your story," he explained, "since I knew he'd had experience with such things."

"About Eevee," Wigglytuff continued, "the human had come from the future to help with an impending disaster. Although all that was settled, so I can't think of how you may have arrived here."

"Actually," I said, "Me, uh, Mudkip here is a friend of mine from before I lost my memories."

"We're not from the future," Mew offered, smiling. "But we may be able to restore Cara's memories eventually."

"Great!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, a bit louder than necessary. "I was worried when Lucario wrote me, so I'm glad to see you've got things figured out."

"Thanks."

"So," Lucario said, "I hear the package was delivered?"

"Oh, yes," Wigglytuff replied, bouncing over to a cabinet against the wall. He opened one of the drawers and tossed several things onto the floor. Finally he pulled out a small wooden box. "They delivered it a few days ago. I suggested that they stay in town, where it was safer, but they said that their island would be safe from Mewthree's influence."

"I hope they're right," Lucario sighed, accepting the box and tucking it into his travel bag.

"You'll be staying the night then?" Wigglytuff asked.

Lucario nodded.

"Make yourself at home," Wigglytuff offered. He looked at me. "I'd introduce you to Jolteon - she evolved a while ago - but she and her partner Infernape are off right now. They're one of our strongest Rescue Teams, so they're doing everything they can to help right now."

"You mean Jolteon stayed like a Pokémon?" I asked, startled. "She never found out how to turn back into a human?"

"Well, she's an odd case," Wigglytuff explained. "She came from the future, and the future was changed. But she is more than happy to remain a Pokémon."

I glanced down at the ground. I had no memory of being human. If Mewtwo and Mew hadn't showed up, I probably would have settled in very nicely as part of Link's rescue Team. It might have been a pleasant way to spend a life. But I knew that I couldn't do that. I needed to get back to my own world. My friends were working hard to help me. I had strong, important ties to my old life, even if I didn't know what they were. I could never abandon them. I _would _be able to return home, wouldn't I? With all my memories, and as a human?

I swallowed. Link put a hand on my shoulder and I looked up. Lucario was leaving the room. We hurriedly followed him.

…

We set off the next day at noon, beginning the long trek back.

"So, what exactly is the thing you picked up from Wigglytuff?" I asked.

"This is going to power Manectric's machine," Lucario explained.

"So, is it a battery, or something?" I asked.

"A what?"

"It's a sort of human power source," Mew explained.

Lucario hesitated. He didn't seem to want to tell us, despite his assurances to Chatot that he trusted us. Then again, he had just met Mew (AKA Mudkip). And he still didn't really know me.

"It's the spirit of a Latias," he explained.

We looked up startled.

"What?" Mew exclaimed.

Lucario nodded. "Latios and Latias live on an island off the coast near Treasure Town. They flew to Treasure Town to deliver the package." He patted his bag, where the box was stowed. "This is the soul of their mother. They wanted to do something to help, so they said we could use this to power Manectric's machine. It should give the machine enough power to slow Mewthree down."

"The spirit of a Latias," Link repeated.

"It's called a Spirit Mist," Lucario explained. "The soul of a Latios is called a Soul Dew. I would show you, but I'm not going to open the box up until we get back to Charm Town. I was hoping Latios and Latias would stay at Treasure Town, where it would be safer for them. But they chose to return to their home."

It was late evening by the time we reached the rest house.

We approached the building, and stepped up to the door. Lucario reached it first, followed by Mew.

I stalled, and something made me reach out and grab Link's tail as he moved in front of me. He glanced back to see what I wanted, and at that moment, a crackling jolt of electricity blasted out of the doorway, slamming into Mew and Lucario. A moment later, a burst of searing fire struck the two of them.

Lucario crumpled to the ground, his fur charred and smoking. Mew was blasted backwards where she sprawled into the road. She winced and tried to get her feet under her. A crackle of electricity ran across her skin. She was paralyzed. Her Mudkip form had taken serious damage from the attack.

But there wasn't anything I could do to help her. At that moment, two hulking forms stepped out of the rest stop: Magmortar and Electivire. Both of their eyes were dark – nearly black.

I swallowed and took a step back. Their combined attacks had taken out Lucario and done serious damage to Mew. Their levels must have been far beyond anything we'd faced so far.

Electivire delivered a powerful kick to Lucario as he exited the building.

"Cut that out!" Link shouted.

Both of them turned and locked hollow eyes on us. Link and I took a step back.

Magmortar started to come towards us. Link used Thunderbolt, but Magmortar barely seemed to notice. Behind him, Electivire was starting to move towards Mew. They were acting rather slowly, as though being possessed made them process thoughts more slowly.

"Cara!" Mew shouted. She finally managed to gather herself and leap towards Magmortar. She blasted out Hydro Pump, but only part of it hit. Even so, it made Magmortar stagger and half-turn.

"Run!" Mew shouted. "Don't worry about me! They're too strong for you!"

But neither of us ran. How could we?

Electivire used Thunder, which struck Mew, making her cry out in pain.

"Stop that!" I shouted, charging forward and using Ember at Electivire. But Magmortar caught me a blow to the stomach. It sent me flying backward, and I crashed to the ground, gasping for breath. Magmortar continued to come at us, while Electivire took a step towards Mew, who was stretched on the ground. For a moment, her shape flickered, and then the Mudkip disguise melted away, replaced with her real form. This, at least, seemed to confuse Electivire.

But that was the last bit of attention I was able to pay to Mew, because Magmortar sent out Flamethrower. Link and I leapt out of the way, barely avoiding the flames. While the heat didn't seem to bother me much, the tip of link's tail was singed.

Link and I retreated further and further away from Mew and Lucario. There was nothing else we could do as we dodged the repeated Embers and Flamethrowers.

_Think! _What could we do against opponents who were so much stronger than us? Even if we kept hammering away with our attacks, we'd get tired out before we managed to take them both down. And one or two hits from them would be enough to bring us down.

Maybe if there was more variety in our arsenal, but Link and I had so few attacks! If we knew something like Dig, we might stand a chance.

But there was one thing. We were smaller and faster.

Yessss. That might just work. And we only had Magmortar to deal with right now. Electivire was still by Mew.

"Link!" I shouted, leaping over a jet of flame. "Use Double Team! And then use Thunder Wave. Once he's paralyzed, blast away with as many Thunderbolts as you can manage!"

I didn't wait for his reply, but opened my mouth and sent out Smoke Screen. I tried to guide the smoke so that it was spread thinner over a larger area. It sort of worked. Link used Double Team through the smoke, with some of his doubles comepletely hidden by the black fog. He shot out Thunder Wave, paralyzing our foe.

And I began using Dragon Rage. It didn't matter how low my level was. Dragon Rage would always do the same amount of damage.

Magmortar backed away from the volley of lightning and Dragon Rage, moving erratically because of the paralysis. The sudden counter-attack seemed to have caught him off-guard, but he finally got over it. I had to scramble quickly out of the way to avoid Lava Plume, but some of the hot magma droplets hit me, making me wince as they seared my scales. I took momentary refuge in a thicker area of smoke in Magmortar's blind spot.

Link's Double Team faded away, and he stopped beside me, panting.

"I don't think it's working," he gasped.

I shook my head, breathing heavily. "No, see, look at him. He's paralyzed, staggering, and breathing almost as hard as us. We've done a lot of damage to him."

"Yeah, but can we take him out, and then defeat Electivire?"

"We have to try."

Link nodded, and we leapt apart to avoid Flamethrower.

I used Dragon Rage once more. I realized that I'd just run out of power for the attack. My method wouldn't work for Electivire.

"Okay, Link," I shouted. "Hit him with everything you've got!"

"Yaaaaa!" Link shouted, unleashing his strongest blast of Thunderbolt. Magmortar let out a groan, and the slowly crashed to the ground.

Link and I stood ther gasping for a moment. We turned and grinned at each other, slapping a high-five.

There was a bright flash, and Electivier's Discharge crashed into us, making me shout in pain as the electricity jolted through me. I toppled to the ground, dizzy and weak. Link tugged me to my feet. He'd been hit too, but it hadn't done as much damage to him.

"I need a boost," I gasped. Electivire's attacks might not hurt link as much, but Link's attacks would do practically nothing to our foe.

Link rolled onto his back and braced his feet against my back. I jumped forwards at the same time as he pushed me, and I managed to launch onto Electivier's shoulder. I used Fire Fang, but Electivire only winced. He started to use Thunderbolt, so I quickly leapt free.

Link made use of the distraction I'd provided and dashed over to his bag. He held up an orb. I nodded and circled around towards Link. Electivire turned towards us just as Link hurled the sleep orb. But Electivire used Discharge, and detonated the orb mid-air. I saw the attack coming, and knew that I wouldn't be able to survive it. I quickly dug my heels into the road, using Endure. Discharge struck me, making me spasm in pain, but I remained standing. Barely. Beside me, Link was in slightly better shape than I.

"You can use Iron Tail," I gasped. "It might do more damage."

Link nodded sprang feebly forward. Electivire knocked him to the side, and Link lay there. For a moment, I was afraid that he was out, but then he stirred and managed to push himself to all fours.

Electivire glanced between the two of us, as though trying to decide who to go for. Then his eyes fixed on me. I backed away, but stumbled and fell onto my back.

I had no more ideas. Neither of us had anything left to give anyway. Maybe if Link and I could escape, we could get some help. But were we even in any condition to get to Charm or Treasure Town?

I barely registered the rapidly approaching footfalls. A jet of water came from somewhere and struck Electivire. A moment later, a Thunder attack hit him, and then Fire Blast appeared and knocked Electivire to the ground. And that was where he stayed.

I sat up and looked in the direction the attacks had come from. And three Pokémon galloped into view, slowing to a stop.

It took a moment for the importance of what I was seeing to sink in.

Raikou, Entei, and Suicune.

Link and I staggered to our feet. I glanced around and found Mew lying on the ground to the side of the road. She must have been battered and kicked all the way over there. I glanced at the three legendary dogs, but they were all looking at the unconscious Mew. I went to her side as Link fetched an Oran berry from his bag. I lifted Mew up and Link squeezed the berry over her mouth so that a few drops of juick trickled down her throat.

She slowly opened her eyes.

"Cara," she moaned. "I'm sorry. I screwed up."

"No," I said, startled. "Everything's fine. We're all pretty beat-up, but fortunately halp came at the right time."

I gestured to Raikou, Entei, and Suicune.

"Ah!" Mew exclaimed, sitting up. Link handed her the rest of the berry. "Cara," she said, barely registering the berry in her hands. "These are some of your friends! They came here to help you."

I looked, startled, at Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. They looked at me, equally startled.

"This is Cara?" Suicune asked.

"A Charmander," Entei said, nodding. "Fire-type, huh?"

"Mewtwo said you wouldn't remember us," Raikou muttered.

I dropped my head, wishing I _could_ remember them. They'd come all the way to another world to help me.

"This is unexpected."

Link and I spun around to see Lucario sitting up and staring at the scene before him. The lack of a Mudkip and the presence of Mew seemed to interest him in particular. He looked at me. "Cara, I think you'd better explain what's going on."

I swallowed and nodded.


	20. Red Soul

I'm going to a writing workshop this weekend. Should be fun. I want to work on one of my other stories while I'm up there. I wonder if I'll get a chance to work on my fanfic.

Red Soul

"I guess so," I sighed, dropping my head. It was hardly a believable tale.

It was a good thing we hadn't told him about Mewtwo, because Lucario asked, "And how can I be sure that you're not in league with Mewthree?"

Mew narrowed her eyes. "Even if I was from this world, I would be the last person to aide Mewthree. Back on our own planet, a group of scientists once captured me in an attempt to clone me. They would have succeeded if… if someone hadn't rescued me. I don't know how much of me would have been left if they'd managed to succeed. Do you know if the Mew and Mewtwo of your world still exist?"

"I do not," Lucario admitted. "Though I've heard that our Mewtwo is gone."

"You think he was sacrificed in order to complete Mewthree?" Mew asked.

"So goes the rumor," Lucario sighed.

Mew looked disgusted at the idea. "I'm alive because they used a Mew fossil to clone Mewtwo," she explained. "I hope the Mew in your world is as lucky as I was. Your Mewtwo wasn't."

Lucario gave a dry laugh. "I see your point. Though you'll find we're pretty suspicius these days. You'll have to forgive me if I don't seem entirely open."

"I suppose so," Mew agreed. "If it helps, you're allowed to be suspicious of me."

"I guess that includes me too," I chipped in.

"Although we all vouch for them," Suicune said.

Lucario smiled. "It's strange times we live in. Trust can be so dangerous, but trust in our friends is the only thing that will protect us. I'll try to limit my suspicions."

"Much obliged," Entei said, smiling.

"After all," Lucario continued, "Mew, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune could all be very helpful to have around. And Cara's proving quite useful too."

"Heh," I said, hiding a smile.

"We'll do what we can while we're here," Mew promised. "Although I ask that you tell as few people as possible about our situation."

"I'll keep it to myself if I can," Lucario promised. He tried to stand, but his legs wobbled unsteadily. Raikou offered his shoulder as a support. He was still weak from the attack. "The fact that our two foes came out of the rest stop worries me. They may have attacked the Pokémon inside. We should check on them."

Link and I followed Lucario inside. Mew waited outside with Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. She was still weak as well, despite the Oran berry. Roselia, Lombre, Doduo, and Quagsire were all passed out on the ground. We used all of our Oran berries to revive them, and Lucario promised to look for more guards to aid them.

"I could teleport over here occasionally," Mew suggested as we exited the outpost. "Not much can stand up against me. They caught me off guard this time."

Lucario gave a half-smile. "I was caught off-guard as well, so it's nothing you need to be ashamed about."

"We can give you a ride back to town," Entei offered.

"Although we'll need a place to stay while we're here," Suicune said.

"I know a place," Link said, eager to be of some use. "There's a valley that reaches down to the ocean, and there's a stream there that you can use for water, and the berry bushes make a sort of cave, so you can use it for shelter."

Raikou nodded. "Sounds fair. Shall we be off then?"

…

For the next several days, Link and I trained with Tyranitar, and went on several smaller missions. They mainly included searching for Pokémon and bringing them to town where it was safe. The towns were becoming a sort of camp for Pokémon that were afraid to stay in the wild. Whatever means Mewthree had of possessing Pokémon, those in the towns seemed to be safe.

During our training, Mew traveled to a few of the outposts along the Coast Road. Lucario gave her directions to some of the other stops, so she was able to teleport to three of them every day in order to check up on everyone there. She masqueraded as an Abra so she wouldn't draw attention to herself, but she never needed to stay too long.

Raikou, Entei, and Suicune patrolled the road, keeping to the bushes to avoid attracting attention.

It was nearly two weeks before we heard more about the box Lucario had retrieved from Treasure Town. We received word during breakfast that Lucario wanted to see us, so we headed over to his office. Lopunny showed us in. We found Lucario asleep, his head on his desk.

"Oh, my," Lopunny whispered. "He was away for a few days. It looks like he stayed up all night to catch up on his work."

"Maybe we should come back later," I suggested.

Lopunny hesitated. "I'm sure he wouldn't ask you to come here if it wasn't important."

She started to move towards him, but the sound of footsteps awoke Lucario. He quickly sat up. When he saw the four of us looking at him, he sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Right," he said. "Team Avalon, I have a mission for you. A very important one, which I'm only giving you because of your strength." He gestured at Mew. She cocked her head. "Usually this is something I would do myself, or ask Tyranitar to do. But you can get there fastest." Mudkip could possibly travel fast. Obviously she didn't know Mew's true identity.

Lucario reached under his desk and pulled out the box we'd gotten from Treasure Town: the spirit of Latias – the Spirit Mist.

"I've been keeping this here, since it's safer here than the cave where Manectric works," Lucario explained. "But she needs to test it on her machine now, so I need the three of you to take it to her for the day."

Link accepted the box and tucked it into his bag. "We'll get it there," he promised.

Lucario gave a weak smile and nodded.

As we left, Lucario picked up his pen, held it to the paper on his desk, and then lowered it again, shutting his eyes once more.

"Is he okay?" I asked Lopunny when we were out of Lucario's office.

Lopunny looked concerned. "There's so much he has to do. I've been doing everything I can to help him, but there's some things that he has to do himself. The sooner all of this is over, the better."

…

"I haven't been to Manectric's place before, so I can't teleport," Mew explained. "But I can fly us, if you know the way."

Link nodded. "Yeah, we've been there before. We can get you there."

Once the town was behind us, Mew transformed into a Flygon.

"Something I've been thinking about," Link said as we hopped onto Mew's back. "If we just teleport and fly everywhere, Cara and I won't get much battle experience. And if there's any possessed Pokémon near the roads, we won't be able to clear them out to make it safe for travelers."

Mew nodded. "We can go by foot most of the rest of the time, if you want. But we have the Spirit Mist now. It's safety should be our priority for today."

"Raikou, Entei, and Suicune are helping to keep the roads clear," I reminded Link.

"Which reminds me," Mew said. "A couple more of our friends should be here by morning. We can pick them up tomorrow."

"That's great!" I exclaimed.

"Are they more legendaries?" Link asked.

"Yes. Us legendaries are the only ones that Palkia would trust to send to different worlds."

Link nodded. "Makes sense. I don't think I'd feel safe going to another world. Unless I had to help a friend, of course."

I smiled.

With Mew flying, we arrived at the hills in about half an hour. We stopped at the bottom of Manectric's hill so that Mew could pick up her Mudkip shape.

But just as we were approaching the cave, a shape appeared from the dark depths, galloping towards us.

Link's cheeks sparked and Mew prepared to attack before we realized that it was Manectric.

She skidded to a halt in front of us.

"Thank goodness you've come. You got my message?"

"About the Spirit Mist?" Link asked.

Manectric looked at us oddly. "About Elekid."

We looked at her blankly.

Manectric sighed. "Early this morning I sent a message to Lucario by carrier Pidgey. Elekid is missing."

"Lucario didn't tell us anything about that," Mew said. "He just asked us to deliver the Spirit Mist. Are you sure your message got through?"

"It may not have," Manectric admitted. "Pidgey may have been attacked and delayed."

"Why didn't you go to rescue him?" Link asked.

"I can't leave the machine unguarded. Both Elekid and I know that this machine is more important than either of us individually. Which is why I sent for help."

"When did he go missing?" I asked. "And where?"

"Early this morning he went out to get water, and he never came back."

"We'll go find him," Mew said. "He was down at the river? We'll probably find evidence if we follow his route. You stay inside and make sure the machine stays safe." Mew didn't mention giving Manectric the Spirit Mist. She knew that the safest place for it was with her. We'd hand it over after we found Elekid.

Manectric nodded and backed into the cave. Link, Mew, and I started to walk away. Once Manectric was out of sight, Mew turned to the cave. She glowed pink for a moment, and suddenly the cave entrance had completely vanished. The cliff face appeared solid and unmarked.

"What did you do?" Link asked, startled.

"I cast a mirage to hide the cave. It'll keep Manectric safe, since she's there alone."

When we'd reached the bottom of the hill, we hurried to the river where Elekid would have gone for water.

The wooden bucket was about 30 feet from the river. The ground around it was damp. He must have been attacked when he was on his way back. The dirt and grass was torn up, as though there had been a scuffle, and there were some scorch marks from Elekid's lightning. Footsteps led away torward the north.

"What do you think made these?" I asked. "Something bigger than us, at least. And pretty heavy to leave such deep tracks."

"Donphan and Graveler," Mew said, examining the prints. "He probably didn't stand a chance against two ground types."

Link nodded. "At least it'll be easy to follow."

"That's right," Mew agreed. "Climb on. We should hurry." She transformed into Flygon once again, and we hopped onto her back.

Mew took off, flying close to the ground. Her eyes remained glued to the trail of footprints left by the Pokémon that had attacked Elekid. We ended up at the main road, heading northwest.

"Do you think they kidnapped Elekid because they figured out about the machine?" I asked.

"Well, if they have, Manectric will need some more help defending this place. Maybe Suicune will come down to help them out."

"It looks like they're taking Elekid to Mount Labyrinth," Link said, his eyes following the road through the hills until it disappeared into the distant mountains.

Mew angled upwards, gaining altitude until we were high above the road. We coasted above the path. The further we went, the higher the hills got and the wilder the forest became. At the point where the trail entered the hills, it began to move further and further from the ocean. From here, we could barely see a strip of blue in the ocean. From Mount Labyrinth, the sea probably wouldn't be visible at all.

"There," Flygon said.

Link and I peered over her shoulder. Sure enough, far below us, a figure was traveling north, towards the mountains. Or was it only one? As Mew dove closer, I saw that it was a Donphan with a Carnivine riding on its back. And Carnivine had its vines wrapped around something yellow – Elekid. Donphan and Carnivine didn't notice us approaching from behind.

"Elekid looks unconscious," Link whispered.

"I'm going to collide with them and knock them over," Mew said. "Hopefully they'll drop Elekid during the panic. When I hit, you jump free. I'll take Donphan, you take Carnivine."

"Right," Link and I chorused.

Mew angled sharply down, falling into a dive. I clung to her shoulder, bracing myself for the impact. Then Mew drove her shoulder into Donhan's hip and caught Carnivine with her wing. Donphan flipped over, and Carnivine went tumbling to the ground. Elekid flew free and rolled to the ground, where he lay unmoving.

Link and I didn't so much as jump off as fall off. We scrambled to our feet and faced Carnivine, who was trying to right herself. But we didn't give her the chance to do so. I used Ember, and Link used Thunderbolt. I jumped forward to use Fire Fang, but Carnivine turned around and opened her jaws wide. I skidded to a halt, tring to stop myself from running right into that huge mouth. With a quick zap, Link sent Thundershock to the side of Carnivine's head, making her mouth snap upwards. I quickly jumped forward and used Fire Fang.

Carnivine groaned and crashed to the ground.

"Phew," I said. "Much easier than the last big battle, huh?"

Link laughed. "I think we were more at our own level this time."

Behind us, Mew was battling Donphan. Donphan, it seemed, was at a higher level. And he'd gained momentum with Rollout, so Mew had trouble aiming as she hovered above in her Flygon form. Donphan hit a rise in the road and shot up towards Mew, who dodged to the side. Donphan landed, and continued rolling.

I turned to check on Elekid, but as I did so, I heard a crashing sound through the trees. We looked up to find a Graveler rolling right at us.

We didn't get time to react. It crashed right into us, sending Link and I flying. I managed to get my bearings and turn my fall into a roll. But the impact had left me bruised and dizzy.

Link hadn't landed quite as well. He was in a heap next to me. He moaned and sat up.

Graveler turned around and came at us again, gaining more momentum with Rollout. Link wouldn't be in time to get out of the way.

I jumped in front of him and used Dragon Rage on Graveler's left side. The impact was enough to make him swerve and avoid us by inches.

I dragged Link to his feet and we faced Graveler.

Just then a rush of water flooded across the path and sent Graveler sprawling. We turned to face a Blastoise. I hissed and got into battle stance before I realized that it was only Mew. She'd transformed again, and managed to take out Donphan and Graveler.

"Thanks," I huffed.

She sighed and transformed back into a Flygon. "We should get back to the cave. How's Elekid doing?"

"Unconscious," Link said, walking over to him. "But in one piece."

Link bent over and picked Elekid up. She offered us her shoulder, and we hopped up between her wings. Mew jumped up into the air, and we headed back to Manectric's cave. It didn't take long, and soon we were circling down towards the cave.

"He's waking up," Mew said as we neared the ground.

There was a cry from somewhere beneath Mew. Elekid was probably startled at finding himself carried by a Flygon.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of electricity lit up the sky. Fortunately Mew's Flygon form deflected the bolts, so they didn't reach us. But Mew let out a startled cry and automatically dropped Elekid. Except we were still about 50 feet from the ground.

Mew quickly swooped low, getting beneath Elekid. Link and I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him down next to us. He began to spark, preparing for another attack.

"Stop it!" I shouted.

"Elekid, it's us! We came to help you!" Link exclaimed.

Elekid's static fizzled out as he got a good look at us. "You guys. You came here before."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Why don't you think before you attack next time?"

"I could hardly see you from down there, could I?" Elekid demanded. "Consdiering I was being kidnapped before I lost consciousness, it's normal that my first reaction would be to try to escape."

"And how will escaping fifty feet in the air help you?" I demanded.

Elekid glanced down at the ground as Mew landed.

"Reflexes," he explained.

"Don't let your reflexes kill you," Link suggested.

Mew landed, and the three of us jumped off. Mew had managed to dispel the illusion before we landed, so Elekid hadn't noticed the cave's supposed disappearance.

Manectric galloped out to greet us. She breathed a sigh of relief to see Elekid safe.

"You made it. Thank you so much. Are you okay, Elekid?"

He nodded.

"Even though he attacked us," Link grumbled.

"Before I knew it as you!" Elekid said defensively.

"And who are you?" Manectric asked, looking at Flygon-Mew.

We exchanged glances. Mew had been planning to transform back into a Mudkip before Manectric saw us, but Elekid woke up before she got the chance. We'd probably have to explain things to her and Elekid. I sure couldn't think of a good cover story.

"Uh, can we talk inside?" Mew suggested.

"Yes, let's go in," Manectric suggested.

Once we were inside, Mew took her real form, and we explained my story to a startled Manectric and Elekid.

Elekid looked skeptical, but Manectric looked thoughtful.

"It makes sense. Why else would Lucario trust a new Rescue Team to deliver the Spirit Mist?"

"Oh, yeah, we still have it," Link said, reaching into his bag and pulling the box out.

Since Manectric didn't really have hands, Link lifted off the lid. I reached in and lifted the item out.

It was round and smooth, like glass. It was red, with a pale pink sort of mist pulsing within. Golden flecks glimmered inside it. It was warm, and I felt a faint sort of shifting motion inside, as though it were alive.

"Wow," I whispered, running my hand across the top of it. "I… I think I've seen something like this before. Except… a different color, maybe?"

"It was probably a Soul Dew," Manectric explained, gesturing for me to follow her. "A Soul Dew is the spirit of a Latios. It's blue." She beckoned for me to place the Spirit Mist onto a niche in her machine. I did so, but nothing happened.

"Still some adjustments, it looks like," Manectric muttered.

"I'll send one of our friends over to help defend this place," Mew offered.

"That would be great," Manectric agreed, dipping her claw in a dish of ink and making several marks on her schematics. "Especially since we have the Spirit Mist with us now. That is certainly something we need to guard. We wouldn't want Mewthree to get his hands on a power source like this."

Mew nodded. "I'll get them here as soon as possible."

I wondered who she meant by "them." Was she planning on sending more than just Suicune?

Manectric turned and raised an eyebrow at Elekid. He groaned. "Uh, thanks. For saving me."


	21. Brother and Sister

Brother and Sister

Someone was shaking my shoulder.

"Go away," I mumbled sleepily, rolling over and trying not to wake up.

"You never do like waking up, do you? Don't make me do something you'll regret."

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and glared up at Mew.

"What do you want?" I demanded. "They haven't announced breakfast yet."

"Don't you remember? We're going to meet with a few of our friends. They're waiting for us."

"Can't we go later?"

Mew assumed her Mudkip shape and pushed me off of my bed. "Come on. You've had plenty of sleep. Let's go."

As I got to my feet and rubbed my eyes, Mew dashed off to wake Link.

"We'll be back before breakfast," Mew assured me as I met her out in the hall. When Link joined us, we headed downstairs and left Arcanine's house.

"They're not far away," Mew said. "Once we're out of Charm Town, I can teleport us to meet them."

And so she did. We ended up to the south along the coast, somewhere near Treasure Town. Grassy, shrubby fields surrounded us. Mew returned to her normal shape and flew up into the air, calling out. Then she dropped down next to us.

"They're on their way," she announced.

I glanced around, and eventually caught sight of two figures flying over the bushes towards us. As they drew closer, I saw that they were two of the same Pokémon: Celebi. Except they weren't the same color. One was green, and the other was pale red.

"Hiii!" Mew called brightly. "You made it!"

The two Celebi nodded. Then they turned to look at me.

"Hi," I said weakly, wishing I could remember them.

The green Celebi smiled. "Hi. I'm glad to see you're doing well. It's been quite a while. Though we really only did meet once."

"And you helped me once," the red Celebi chipped in. "My name's Garnet. I was asleep in this gold and silver Pokéball for the longest time. It was a good nap, but you woke me up."

"Garnet," the green Celebi scolded. "We're not supposed to talk about that stuff near her."

"I know," he said, holding up his hands. "I wasn't going to say anything else." He turned to Mew. "A few of the others went home. Just to let you know."

Mew nodded. "Okay. You can fill me in later. For now, would you guys be willing to help us with something?"

…

We dropped the two Celebi off at Manectric's cave where they could help guard the machine. Then we headed back to Arcanine's house for breakfast.

But no sooner had we arrived than Pachirisu came tearing out and crashed into Link, and both of the tumbled to the ground.

"Link!" Pachirisu gasped, sitting on top of Link. "Lucario just sent a messenger looking for you. He said it was urgent."

"As in this second?" Link asked. "All of us?"

Pachirisu nodded, looking anxious.

Link pushed Pachirisu off of him and sat up. "Well, okay. Come on then."

"What, no breakfast?" Mew asked, trotting after us, her Mudkip disguise safely in place.

When we arrived at Lucario's office, Tyranitar was there as well. Lucario, Lopunny, and Tyranitar all looked rather troubled.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We just received word from some friends of ours," Lucario explained. "They're being attacked, and they need help. I knew you would be able to get there fastest."

Tyranitar glanced down at us, confused. Lucario hadn't told him that Mudkip was actually Mew. Lopunny didn't know what to make of it either.

Lucario nodded to Mew. She glanced between him, Tyranitar, and Lopunny, then sighed. Her body glowed and morphed back into her Mew shape.

Tyranitar took a step back, startled. Lopunny covered her mouth.

"They can explain later," Lucario said. "Listen. Two of our friends, Latios and Latias, live on an island to the south of here, nearer Treasure Town. A short while ago, I received a telepathic message from Latias, saying that some Pokémon were attacking them and that they needed help. I need the four of you to get over there as soon as possible." He gestured to Tyranitar, Link, Mew, and me.

"I can't teleport over there, since I've never been there before," Mew explained. "I could fly over, but I couldn't carry him." She pointed at Tyranitar.

"I still think he should go," Lucario said.

"If there's a way for me to get there, then we have to find it," Tyranitar insisted.

Mew thought for a moment. "I think the best thing would be for me to fly over there as fast as I could. Then I could teleport here and pick you up, and then teleport back to the island."

Lucario nodded. He gestured to a map spread out on his desk. There were several islands scattered along the coast. He pointed to a leaf-shaped island. "This is it. How quickly can you get there? An hour?"

Mew raised an eyebrow at him. "By myself? At my fastest? You underestimate me. Twenty minutes. Maybe fifteen, if the wind's with me."

Lucario nodded.

"Okay, I'm off." Mew darted out the window. We watched as she transformed into speed-form Deoxys and disappeared in a blur.

"While Latios and Latias are our friends and allies, " Lucario explained, "of course we must go to their aide. But that's not all that's at stake. You said that yesterday, some of Mewthree's slaves tried to kidnap Elekid? It's possible he has learned about the machine. But it also may have been a coincidence. Let's hope it is, but prepare for the worst. If they did learn about the machine, they may also learn about the Spirit Mist. Which makes me wonder if Mewthree might be capable of extracting the Soul Dew and Spirit Mist from Latios and Latias… killing them in the process. There could be any number of reasons, but we shouldn't let any of them come to pass."

"Latios and Latias have been my friends for a long time," Tyranitar explained. "I want to go there to help them. And we don't know what we're up against, so the more of us, the better." He turned to look at Link and I. "And speaking of legendary Pokémon, I feel like I'm missing some very important information."

I glanced over at Lucario, who nodded. And so I explained what I could about Mew and where I was from.

"Actually, this morning," I concluded, "we just dropped off two Celebi to help Manectic and Elekid out."

Tyranitar raised his eyebrows, apparently not sure what to think of this. "I… see."

"I hope you can find your way home," Lopunny said sympathetically.

They didn't get a chance to say anything else, because at that moment, Mew appeared beside us.

"We're ready. Come on. Let's go."

Link, Tyranitar, and I gathered next to Mew.

"We'll send word if we need help," Tyranitar said to Lucario.

"If I can," Mew added, "I'll teleport directly over here with Latios and Latias as we try to clean up whatever mess is over there."

And with that, Lucario's office vanished.

And a moment later, we were standing in a hilly field of grass and flowers, with scattered trees sprouting around us. A salty scent betrayed the presence of the nearby ocean. Against a hill, beneath a shelter of trees, there was a hut with grass growing across the top of it. Except part of the hut had been smashed in and stood in ruins. Five Pokémon were gathered around it: Crawdaunt, Magnezone, Gliscor, Mismagius, and Bronzong. They seemed to be targeting something inside of the hut, but were reluctant to go after it. It wasn't hard to tell why, because of the furious snarls and blasts of energy coming from the collapsed building.

"I'll break them up," Tyranitar growled. "Link, Cara, you pick one of them and keep it busy until we come to help you. Mew, if you get a chance, grab Latios or Latias and teleport them to safety."

Before any of us could respond, Tyranitar threw back his head and bellowed. He charged forwards, plowing through the crowd of enemies.

"He's using Thrash," Mew growled. "He'll become confused after he's run out of steam. I wish he hadn't done that."

Mew transformed into Garchomp and rushed forwards, falling on Crawdaunt and attacking viciously. I swallowed and exchanged glances with Link. We nodded to each other and then ran forwards.

Now that the enemies had scattered, we could see two figures huddled in the hut – one red and one blue. Latios seemed to be leaning protectively over Latias. And Latias didn't seem to be moving.

When Latios saw Tyranitar, he hovered to the front of the hut and began attacking Mismagius. Tyranitar stomped back and forth, smashing whatever got into his way.

Magnezone glided free and fixed its eye on us. It sped directly towards Link and I. I quickly used Ember and Link used Thunderbolt. It slowed Magnezone down a bit, but he kept coming. He used Sonic Boom, and we dove out of the way. I glanced up in time to see Mew dash to Latias's side. The two of them disappeared.

I used Ember again and dove behind a tree as Magnezone used Discharge. Startled, I found myself facing Tyranitar. He stepped towards me, and at first I thought he was coming to my aid. But then I noticed him staggering, eyes unfocused. He wasn't looking in my direction at all. He was confused.

I threw myself to the ground as Tyranitar whirled to slam his fist into Gliscor. His tail sailed above my head, knocking my hat off. His tail smashed into the trunk of the young tree, shattering the wood. The tree creaked and tilted. For a moment, it seemed to hang suspended in the air. Then it fell, right towards Latios. He had just delivered the final blow to Mismagius, and didn't see the tree coming. One of the branches slammed into him, pinning him to the ground. I gasped and started to run towards him, but Magnezone's Magnet Bomb crashed into me from behind, sending my flying. I landed amongst the shattered boughs of the tree, wincing as the splintered wood scratched at me. Link was firing away at Magnezone, but his attacks were having little effect.

I had to help Link. And it wasn't as though I could lift the tree off of Latios anyway.

I jumped forwards with Fire Fang. Magnezone buzzed in annoyance as my attack hit, and he threw me off. I landed beside Link.

"Distract him," I muttered. "I'll get in and try to do some damage."

Link nodded and began shooting out lightning bolts. They didn't do much damage, but they did bother Magnezone enough so that I could dash around and jump in with Fire Fang again.

Except as I was in mid-leap, I saw Magnezone unleash Discharge.

I couldn't change direction in mid-air, and attack hit me full. I tumbled backwards, and my body spasmed from the jolt. I gasped and forced myself back to my feet. One more hit like that, and I knew I wouldn't be able to get up again.

Magnezone turned away from me and used Magnet Bomb on Link, sending him flying. Link landed in the fallen tree and disappeared into a tangle of twigs and leaves. He hung there, dazed, and Magnezone glided towards him to attack.

"No you don't," I growled, stepping forwards.

Then a strange, tingling sensation coursed through me. I cursed inwardly. Had Magnezone paralyzed me? But no. This was different. It was… warmer. Fizzing through my veins and giving me energy. And power. I shut my eyes, feeling the warmth pulse throughout my body. My skin prickled, and the grass shifted beneath my feet.

Then the sensation faded. I opened my eyes and glanced down at my hand. The sight of the red scales didn't surprise me as much as it might have.

Link, struggling to climb free of the wooden cage, was frozen, staring at me.

Magnezone began to spark. I charged forwards, letting out a battle cry. I jumped up and found my legs had more power than before. I easily sailed up, landing on Magnezone and clamping flaming claws onto him. Magnezone buzzed and jolted in the air. I dropped free and Link used Thunderbolt, sending Magnezone to the ground.

I stood there for a moment, panting. Then I turned and hurried over towards Link, wading through broken twigs and branches. I offered my arm and helped to pull Link out. He stood beside me, looking up at me. The two of us laughed.

"Man, you're taller than me now," Link said.

"Well, it took me a while, but I finally managed to evolve, huh?"

"Better late than never."

We looked over towards Tyrnitar. He flung Bronzong to the ground, and stood above the fallen opponents. But he looked haggard and exhausted from his efforts, and still dazed from the lingering effects of confusion.

Mew glided up to him and tapped his shoulder. Tyranitar shook his head, trying to clear it.

"We need to get Latios out," Mew reminded him, sounding concerned.

Tyranitar glanced around and saw Latios, unconscious and pinned under the tree. Alarm spread across his face, but it was quickly replaced by shame. "That was me, wasn't it? I pinned him down there."

"We'll get him out," Mew promised, turning into an Infernape. "You lift the tree up. I'll pull him out."

Tyranitar nodded, looking ashamed with himself. He paused for a moment, trying to regain some of his breath. Then he reached down, and hefted the tree off of the ground. Mew quickly lifted Latios and carried him out of the way. Then the two of them disappeared, on the way back to Charm Town.

Tyranitar let the tree drop, and glanced around at the torn up grass and shrubs that were the scene of the battle.

"The two of them always kept this place looking so beautiful," Tyranitar sighed, glancing at the smashed hut. "But I sure helped to trash it, didn't I?"

"The important thing is that we got them out of here," I pointed out. "Houses can be rebuilt, and plants will grow again." I walked over to where my hat had fallen and picked it up. Except now that I was a Charmeleon, I had a horn. I wouldn't be able to wear my hat anymore.

"Should we try to straighten up?" Link suggested, gazing around at the trampled flowers.

I shook my head. "This place might see more trouble before long. Anything we do would probably be pointless until Mewthree is defeated.

Tyranitar nodded. "I think she's right." Mew appeared once more, ready to take us home. "Well, there's nothing else we can do here. Let's head back."


	22. Spy

Spy

Once we were back at Lucario's office, Tyranitar and Mew (still an Infernape) carried Latios and Latias to Chansey's clinic. Lucario, Link, and I accompanied them. Latios was in pretty bad shape from the battle and the tree falling on him. But Latias stirred a bit and opened her eyes as Tyranitar carried her to the clinic.

"What happened?" She moaned.

Tyranitar looked down at her. "You're safe now. We got you back to Charm Town. She winced and lifted her head, craning her neck to see Latios.

"Latios is safe too. He got injured, so we're taking both of you to Chansey," Tyranitar promised.

Latias sighed and let her head drop again, exhausted.

Chansey assured us that she'd take care of them. But once Latios and Latias were set on the tables, she shooed all of us to the door.

"I'll send word the moment they're better," Chansey promised Lucario and Tyranitar. "But until then, I need quiet." Seeing the concerned expressions, she smiled. "Don't worry. We'll fix them up good as new. I promise."

Lucario and Tyranitar went their separate ways. Mew turned into Mudkip again when the coast was clear.

I glanced down at my new Charmeleon hand. "I would say that I feel tall, but Tyranitar and Lucario are still much taller than us."

Link laughed. "Well, now I feel shorter than ever."

"Wow, my arms are longer too!" I exclaimed, realizing how amazing that was. "That will make martial arts easier. But there's one problem."

"What's that?" Mew asked.

I held up my aviator's cap. "I have a horn now. This won't fit on my head." I pretended to put it on, but it sat ridiculously on the top of my horn.

Link and Mew laughed.

"We can take it to Kangaskhan," Link suggested. "She could alter it a bit for you."

"You think it would work?"

"Probably."

"Well, let's go after lunch then. We have the rest of the day free."

Mew paused. "Are you two just going to hang around town?"

"I suppose so. Why?" Link asked.

"I should probably do a quick circuit of the Coast Road, and check in with Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. Since we're done for the day, it will be a good time for me to do it."

We nodded.

"Okay. See you for dinner!" Mew said, and she trotted away.

"I guess we're a team of two again," Link said. Leading the way to Kangaskhan's shop. "If only temporarily."

"Yeah," I agreed. "It's been a while, huh?"

"Although I don't know what we'd do without Mew," Link admitted. "She's saved us several times, and she's also the reason we get to go on some of the coolest missions."

I nodded, and the two of us arrived at Kangaskhan's store.

"Hello, you two. What can I do for you?" Kangaskhan asked, smiling. "I see you've evolved! Congratulations!"

I smiled. "Thanks. Actually, my problem has to do with my evolution." I held up my hat. "I have a horn now. Can you fix my hat so I can wear it again?"

Kangaskhan laughed. "Certainly." She took my hat. "Why don't the two of you come back this evening? I'll have it all fixed up by then."

"Thanks!" I exclaimed. I reached up and touched my head. The aviators cap had started to feel like a substitute for the hair I no longer had. "I feel kinda bald without it."

Link laughed. "Why don't we get some lunch while we wait?"

"That's a great idea. We never did get breakfast."

We headed to one of the booths and picked up some sandwiches. After we finished eating, we started towards the shop to see what they had in stock.

I nodded, and we headed in that direction. But before we'd gone very far, someone called us.

"Link! Cara!"

We turned to see Caterpie and Surskit coming towards us.

"Oh, hey guys," I replied.

"What's up?" Link asked.

Caterpie took a step closer, but hesitated.

"What is it?" I insisted.

"Well," she started. Then she plunged ahead. "Surskit and I saw that you evolved, and we were wondering if maybe you could help us evolve too!"

Link and I exchanged glances.

"I think we can do that," I agreed.

Link looked surprised. "But how are we going to do that?"

I gave a wry smile and pulled him aside. "Remember, Mewtwo said that I was a Pokémon Trainer. I bet somewhere in my subconscious, I'll be able to help these guys train. Caterpie and Surskit both evolve at low levels. Caterpie's probably pretty close as it is."

Link shrugged. "If you say so."

"So, what do you think?" I asked. "Tyranitar's Gym?"

Link poked me in the arm. "I don't think his gym is open. He's exhausted from the battle, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Um… do you think it will be safe enough if we leave town? If we don't go too far, we shouldn't run into any dangerous enemies, right?"

"I guess not. Okay, you two. We'll help you train!"

"Yaaay!" Surskit cried, dancing in a circle around us.

"Oh, thank you," Caterpie said, smiling.

We started walking. "We'll only do as much as you feel comfortable with for today," I said. "Maybe one or two battles. And if the opponent is too hard, we'll step in and help. How's that sound?"

"Great!" Surskit exclaimed. "I'm ready to start! Are you ready to start, Caterpie?"

"Um, I guess so."

We went to a big open field just to the north of Charm Town, next to the coast.

Almost immediately, we found a Rattata.

"Caterpie, Tackle!" I called. "Surskit, run around to the other side and use Bubble!"

Caterpie charged forward and crashed into Rattata, who tumbled backwards. But Surskit was there to catch him with his Bubble.

I thought this would be enough to knock Rattata out, but he stood up and tackled Surskit, sending him rolling through the grass.

"Tackle again, Caterpie! Quickly!"

Caterpie hesitated and began to move forward again. But Rattata turned and rushed in with Quick Attack. And Caterpie went flying too.

Link quickly stepped in and used Thundershock, chasing Rattata away.

"Link!" I exclaimed. "They could still have beaten Rattata! You didn't have to chase him away!"

"Oh," Link said, scuffing his foot against the ground sheepishly.

I sighed. "I'll tell you if we need to get in there to help."

He nodded.

"We failed," Caterpie sighed mournfully, crawling up to join us. Surskit skittered up behind her.

"No you didn't!" I exclaimed. "Each of you took a hit and gave a hit. I bet you could have taken it out if you both attacked once more."

"Yeah!" Surskit exclaimed. But Caterpie only sighed.

A Kricketune passed by, but we ducked into the grass and let it pass. It was too high a level for the two to battle, and Link and I wanted to save our strength in case we actually needed it.

Finally we found a Bellsprout.

Surskit jumped right in with Quick Attack, but Caterpie hung back.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She looked away, and didn't respond for a moment. "I just don't think I'm cut out for battling."

"What are you talking about?" Link exclaimed. "You only attacked once!"

"But I don't respond well to attacks," Caterpie insisted. "I get scared!"

"It's normal to get nervous," I said. Behind her, Surskit knocked Bellsprout over, and Bellsprout fled.

"Um, Cara," Caterpie started. I didn't want to hear her excuses, so I continued talking.

"You're still young, and at a low level. Most of the Pokémon you meet are stronger than you. But when you get stronger, that will end and you won't need to be nevous anymore."

"Cara," Caterpie repeated. She wasn't looking at me. She seemed to be looking past me.

"And…" I trailed off, noticing the look of terror in Caterpie's eyes.

"Look out!" Link shouted, leaping forward. In the second he was airborne, I glanced to the side and saw a Persian crouched in the grass. The moment it sprang, Link tackled me to the ground, knocking me out of harm's way. As we fell, I saw that Caterpie was standing there, completely exposed, and right in the way of Persian's pounce.

I let out a shout, wanting to do something to protect Caterpie. But at that moment, Link and I crashed to the ground, and I had no opportunity to attack.

In the tangle of grass and fur, I saw a stream of bubbles and heard the whistle of string shooting through the air. I scrambled to my feet and prepared to drag Persian off of the helpless Caterpie.

Instead, I stood there stunned, seeing Persian on the ground, struggling against a sticky web of thread.

I slowly dawned on me what had happened.

Surskit and Caterpie had done exactly the right things. Surskit used Bubble, slowing Persian's leap. That gave Caterpie enough time to use String Shot and tangle the opponent in the sticky net.

Persian let out an angry yowl and struggled to get free. I snatched up Caterpie, and Link and I rushed back towards the road. Surskit followed.

"That was amazing, you guys!" I exclaimed, once we were back at the edge of town.

I set Caterpie down. She didn't move though. She seemed stunned.

"You did it, you guys! That opponent was at a much higher level than either of you! It just shows what you can do when you work together and use your brains!"

Surskit nodded enthusiastically, but Caterpie didn't respond.

"Hey, are you okay?" I reached forward to touch her. But at that moment, she raized her head and sent a fine, silken strand of thread into the air. I took a startled step backwards. Then I broke into a grin.

"See! I knew you were close, Caterpie! You're evolving!"

The fine thread drifted down around Caterpie's body and formed around her body. Surskit watched, awestruck. Finally the thread hardened, and Metapod was in front of us. She blinked.

"Whoa," she said, in a deeper, slightly muffled voice. "I feel really funny."

I laughed. "I bet. You've got a cocoon covering you."

"It's hard to move. I don't have any feet or a tail anymore."

"Can you move at all?" Link asked, poking Metapod's shell curiously.

"Um, I think I might be able to bounce a bit." She tilted back and forth, and then managed a small bounce forwards, though she traveled only a couple inches.

"Whoa, Caterpie, amazing!" Surskit cried, flitting in every direction in celebration. "I bet really soon you'll hatch and be able to fly! Won't that be so awesome? And then I'll evolve too, and then I can fly also!"

"See, Caterpie… uh, Metapod. You have quite a good battle sense. Surskit has it too. Back when I first got here, that Staravia carried you away. I shouted for you to use String Shot. And you did, even though you were scared. That's the only reason we were able to get away. And then again just now, you and Surskit stopped that Persian."

"You guys should form a Rescue Team after you evolve," Link laughed, half joking.

Metapod smiled.

"Ooh, that would be cool!" Surskit exclaimed. "That would be fun! Don't you think it would be fun, Caterpie?"

"Yeah. maybe. Um, Cara," Metapod said. "Do you think you could help me? I don't think I can get home."

Link and I laughed.

"Sure," I said. "It might take a while for you to get used to your new body."

Since I was the biggest, I lifted her up. Except she was big and kind of awkward to carry.

"Kangaskhan's shop is on the way to Caterpie's house," Link suggested. "We could stop by and see if your hat's done."

"And I can show Kangaskhan that I evolved!" Metapod exclaimed.

It was a relief to set Metapod down in front of Kangaskhan's booth. Except Kangaskhan wasn't at the counter.

Around us, Pokémon were sitting at some of the restaurants, ready to eat dinner. I caught sight of something blue and saw the disguised Mew trotting toward us.

"How was your day?" Mew asked.

"Have a look," I said, gesturing to Metapod.

"Oh, I've seen you guys around," Mew said, smiling. "You evolved too? It's been a big day for evolutions."

Kangaskhan walked up behind the counter. "Oh, you guys made it. You have good timing. I just finished." She held out my hat. There was a slit through the top of it with the edges treated so they wouldn't fray. "Your horn should be able to fit through it. And when you evolve again, it will still fit."

"Wow, thanks!" I exclaimed, taking that hat from her. I pulled it down onto my head.

Link and Mew laughed.

"What?" I demanded.

"Your horn looks funny sticking out of the hat," Surskit giggled.

I huffed in annoyance. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Hey, look at that," Metapod said.

"What?" I asked, since Metapod couldn't point.

"Up in the sky, to the north."

We looked. And sure enough, something was there. Something black, flying towards us.

"It's Honchkrow," Mew exclaimed.

"It looks like he's flying funny," I said, noticing how he was wobbling a bit as he flew.

"Do you think he's hurt?" I asked.

"Surskit," Kangaskhan said, "Maybe you'd better run over and get Lucario. Tyranitar, too."

Surskit nodded and dashed off.

Honchkrow drooped lower in the air as he approached Charm Town. Tyranitar appeared across the town square, and a moment later, Lucario showed up as well.

As Honchkrow appeared over the square, his wings seemed to fail him. He dropped from the sky, managing to catch himself at the last second so that he didn't crash.

Lucario dashed forwards. Tyranitar hurried towards Honchkrow as well. Around us, the Pokémon of Charm Town watched in alarm. Link, Mew, and I stepped closer.

I saw that many of Honchkrow's feathers were ruffled and sticking out oddly. He seemed dizzy and was gasping for breath.

"What happened?" Lucario exclaimed, kneeling by Hochkrow's side. Tyranitar joined them, looking anxious.

Honchkrow gave a few wheezing gasps for air. "I was –gasp gasp – spying on some of Mewthree's slaves. They're getting stronger. And smarter too."

He wasn't talking very loudly, but everyone in the square was so silent that I heard every word he said.

"But they found me and attacked. I was out numbered, and barely managed to get away. But I did learn something. There's a spy. A spy in Charm Town."


	23. Spoiled Hooves

I've been gone for a while because school just started, and I've been spending most of my time working on a writing project for an important application. I'm almost done though, so I can get back to fanfic soon. -

Spoiled-Hooves

"Who do you think the spy could be," I whispered.

Link, Mew, and I huddled a little closer together in my room.

"Tyranitar?" Link wondered.

"What about Lopunny?" I asked. "She probably has access to a lot of what Lucario's been doing."

"That might be," Link agreed. "Might even be Lucario himself."

I hesitated. "If so, his act is pretty convincing. It could also be some Pokémon we've never met before. Someone unobtrusive."

"I wonder if the spy is being controlled, or if he or she is acting on their own free will?" Mew asked.

"You know who Lucario's going to suspect," I said, my heart sinking.

Link and Mew looked at me.

"Us!" I exclaimed. "Lucario knows I'm human, and might still suspect Mew of being involved with Mewthree."

"When he found out about Mew's identity," Link muttered, "He did say that he might continue being suspicious of us."

I looked sadly at my friend. "I hope we don't cause too much trouble for you. If you want, we could always leave. Hole up somewhere until Mewtwo comes to pick us up."

Link looked shocked. "No! Don't leave!"

I gave a small smile. "Okay. If they let us, we'll continue to help."

Mew nodded. "Lucario might keep us around just because of me Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Celebi, and Garnet. We can go and talk to him tomorrow."

I gave a weak smile and nodded. But if Charm Town started being suspicious of us, I might just head to the woods and camp out with Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Lucario, Tyranitar, Lopunny, and Manectric were the only ones to know our identity. So, I had to keep some level of trust in them if I wanted that secret kept.

Link headed off to his own room. Mew fell asleep quickly, but I lay awake for a long time.

…

The three of us headed reluctantly to Lucario's office the next morning. As usual, Lopunny greeted us.

"Oh, hello, you guys," she sighed, looking troubled. It wasn't hard to tell what was on her mind. Probably everyone in Charm Town was wondering who the spy might be.

"Hi," I muttered. "We wanted to ask Lucario something important."

Lopunny hesitated. No doubt this new event meant that Lucario was hard at work again. But she managed a small smile. "I'll tell him you're here."

She returned a minute later. "Come on in."

Lucario was sitting up and trying to appear alert, but it was obvious that he was completely exhausted.

"I'm glad you're here," he said, managing to speak in a level voice. "I wanted to ask you something."

I braced myself, afraid that he was about to tell us to leave.

"A few of our friends live inland," Lucario continued. "Because of recent events, we think it will be safest for them to come into town. Would you please escort them here?"

"What?" I blurted. Lucario raised an eyebrow. "Uh," I said sheepishly. "You see, I was afraid that us being here might cause trouble. If anyone else found out that I'm human, since Honchkrow told us about the spy…"

Lucario nodded. "It's definitely a situation that needs to be handled delicately. We need to be careful with who we trust certain information to. But at the same time, we can't let this news rip us apart. Our community is the reason Mewthree hasn't been able to reach us yet. If we start treating everyone as an enemy, we'll have no defense against our real enemy."

Mew nodded in understanding. "That's definitely true. A spy that doesn't manage to pass on important information may still be able to divide a group from within."

"Which reminds me," Lucario said. "You don't have to stay here. This is our fight, so whenever you're able, you're welcome to go home. You don't need to feel obligated to help us."

Mew and Link glanced at me. I quickly shook my head. "No, we want to help. We have friends here now! And I know Mew and the other legendaries are a big help. A bigger help than me, at least."

Lucario laughed. "You don't do yourself credit."

I shrugged. "I don't even remember my parents' names. Or where I was born. Or how old I am."

"No matter. That doesn't stop you from being helpful in your own way. Now, if you head north from Charm Town, you'll find a road that branches off, heading west. If you keep on that, you'll meet Ponyta and Rapidash."

Mew started laughing. Everyone turned to look at her, curiously.

"Sorry," she said, still giggling. "It's just that Cara always seems to have a lot to do with Ponyta and Rapidash."

I looked away, wishing once again that I hadn't lost my memories.

"Anyway," Lucario continued, "I've told them to look out for you. When you see them, Link, shoot an electric attack into the air. That's the signal they'll look for. I'll leave it up to you whether or not you want to reveal your identity," he said to Mew. "If you're okay with that, you can teleport them directly back here. Or you could just walk back with them."

The three of us nodded.

"Just to let you know, it is about a 30 mile journey. It might take a while, but you should be able to make it back by nightfall if you walk."

I must have looked shocked at this bit of news, because Link laughed. I guess Mew could carry us if we ended up having to walk the 30 miles.

We left Lucario's office and passed Chansey's clinic. The door opened and a face peeked out.

"Wait," said a soft voice. "Please, come here."

As we backtracked towards the clinic, I realized that the Pokémon who had spoken was Latias.

"Oh, you're up!" Link exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Fairly well," Latias said, gesturing for us to step inside.

"What about Latios?" I asked.

Latias drooped a bit. "He can't get up yet. He hurt his back, and he needs to rest. But he's doing better, thanks to Chansey. She asked me not to leave the clinic for now. She told us about the spy, so we should keep our whereabouts a secret. Anyway, I wanted to thank you. Tyranitar told me that you came to help us. And that you brought us back to the mainland."

"That's what a Rescue Team is for," Link said proudly.

Latias smiled. "I suppose. Still, if there's anything you need, be sure to let us know."

…

Mew assumed a Salamence shape and the three of us flew west. The forests disappeared and were replaced by flat grasslands. "I see them off in the distance," Mew said at last. I didn't see a thing, but I trusted that Mew's eyesight was better than either of ours. She dropped to the ground and became a Stantler, trotting along the road.

A few minutes later, I caught sight of two white specks against the horizon.

Link jumped to the and shot Thunderbolt into the air. The three of us waited as the distant figures approached. Eventually, I could make out their shapes. The Ponyta seemed to be lagging a bit behind the Rapidash. I wondered if it had gotten injured somehow.

Rapidash arrived first with Ponyta several yards behind him. The Ponyta was quite young.

Rapidash smiled. "Hello there. I'm assuming Lucario sent you here?"

"That's right," Link agreed.

"I'm sorry you had to come all the way out here for us."

"Did you hear about the spy?" I asked.

Rapidash hesitated. "He did mention something about that, yes. I understand why Lucario is taking the precaution."

Ponyta finally caught up to her father and stopped. She looked us up and down with a rather critical expression.

"My name's Link."

"I'm Cara."

"Hmph," Ponyta said, turning her nose up as though we were some disagreeable dish that she hadn't ordered. "If they're going to send an escort, you'd think they'd at least send some stronger Pokémon."

"That's enough," Rapidash hissed, turning his head towards her and pushing her to the side. "She's a bit tired from the walk is all," he explained apologetically.

"You'd think at least they could send someone who could give us a ride," Ponyta mumbled.

Rapidash heaved a sigh. "We're grateful that you came all this way. I appreciate you taking time to do this for us."

Mew-Stantler smirked. "Well, shall we head back then?" From the tone of her voice, I knew she had no intention of teleporting the sassy little Ponyta back to Charm Town. I wouldn't have wanted to indulge her either. I just hoped that she didn't get on my nerves during the 30-minute long walk. Link and I hopped back up onto Mew's back.

"Daddy, I'm tired of walking!" Ponyta whined as we started towards Charm Town. "I want to stay at home! I don't want to go to this stupid town." She dragged her hooves and fell behind again.

Link and I exchanged exasperated glances.

"I hope they don't stay at Arcanine's place with us," Link whispered.

I stifled a laugh. "Rapidash is fine. Ponyta, not so much." Mew tilted her ears back, and I could tell that she was smiling.

Ponyta was blessedly silent during most of the walk, apparently to bone-weary to do anything but sulk. I doubted that. Rapidash didn't seem so much as winded.

Finally the forest came back into sight, indicating that we were about a third of the way home.

"Ugh, there's so many trees," Ponyta groaned as we neared the forest. "And look at those hills! How can you see anything? Where would you run?"

"You climb a tree," Mew suggested.

"Are you stupid?" Ponyta demanded. "I can't climb a tree, and neither can you." As a Stantler, it certainly would seem impossible for Mew to climb a tree.

"Bet you anything that I can," Mew retorted, apparently enjoying herself.

Ponyta glared at her. "I still bet you can't, but I don't care whether or not you can climb a tree."

As if to prove her superiority, she raised her head and trotted past us to take the lead. She took a step into the forest.

Suddenly Mew froze beneath us. "Wait, stop!" she shouted.

Ponyta slowed and turned to look back at us.

With a sudden jolt, Mew dashed forwards. Startled, by the sudden movement, Link and I fell off of Mew's back and crashed to the ground. I looked up in time to see the bushes at the edge of the forest explode and something huge stomp into view. A Rampardos. Ponyta screamed and tried to jump and back up at the same time. As a result, she got her legs tangled and toppled to her side.

Rampardos towered over her, staring down with narrowed black eyes. Ponyta lay there, trembling and staring up in horror, too afraid to move.

Mew bounded forwards and her horns collides with Rampardos's side, making him stagger.

Rapidash galloped forwards and stood over his daughter, snorting in anger. Link and I rushed forwards to help.

Mew drove Rampardos further down the road, away from the vulnerable Ponyta. I began to relax slightly, sure that Mew would be able to get rid of our foe for us. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than Link shouted, "Look out!"

For the second time, something huge burst out of the forest. Another Rampardos. Link, Rapidash, and I all unleashed attacks, making Rampardos slow. But the two fire-type attacks had little effect. Mew glanced back at us in alarm.

"Don't worry!" Link shouted, jumping forwards and using Iron Tail. "We got this!"

Mew, distracted, was bashed by the first Rampardos's Headbutt. She sprang to her feet, snorting in annoyance. If she wanted to keep her Stantler disguise, fighting a Rampaordos might be tricky. Most of the moves she could get away with were normal-type.

I turned away from Mew. Link and Rapidash were trying to distract Rampardos. I turned to Ponyta.

"Get up," I coazed. "We should get out of the way!"

Ponyta turned her wide, frightened eyes to me. I would have helped her stand, but I was only a fraction of her size. Even so, I pushed fruitlessly against her shoulder. "Come on. To your feet!"

As I turned my head towards the battle, I saw things with disturbing clarity. Rampardos lowered her head and began to charge forwards, stright at us. The distance between us vanished within moments.

Twenty feet.

Fifteen feet.

Ten feet.

I opened my mouth and felt Dragon Rage flare out. At that moment, Link sprang in from the side with Iron Tail, immediately followed by Rapidash with Stomp. The combined attacks were enough to break Rampardos's momentum and send him carshing to his side. He skidded towards us and I jumped to the side, realizing too late that Ponyta was going to be hit by him. But when I looked, she wasn't there. She was standing, perfectly fine, at Rampardos's side when he ground to a halt. She narrowed her eyes at him, turned around, and gave a powerful kick with her hind hooves. If our combined attacks hadn't knocked Rampardos out, that kick would have finished her off.

Mew came trotting back to join us. "Whew. Nice job, guys. Come on. Let's get out of here."

"Well, I suppose you guys aren't completely useless," Ponyta conceded. "You're tougher than you look."

"Uh… thanks?" Link said, perching on Mew's back and scratching his head.


	24. Encroaching Shadow

Raikou, Suicune, Entei, Celebi, and Garnet. And now two more.

For those of you who haven't read Cara's earlier fanfics, all of these guys make some sort of appearance. I don't think it's really important to this plot to explain all that stuff. It'd just take up space. But in case you're wondering, they don't just pop out of nowhere. ^-^'

You can ask me about them if you'd like. Or I can tell you what to read if you want to know why these legendary guys are here to help Cara. But I wanted a new reader to be able to read this without having to refer to the others, if they didn't want to. I try to provide just as much info as you need to understand the references to past events. Do you think I make that clear enough?

Encroaching Shadow

"Link! Cara!"

We looked up to see a Butterfree swoop into view over Charm Town Square. She flipped a loop and came to land in front of us.

"You evolved!" Link exclaimed.

I glanced at him, then back at the Butterfree. "Ah!" I exclaimed, realizing that this Butterfree was the same Pokémon that we'd helped train into a Metapod a week ago.

"I did!" Butterfree exclaimed, nodding excitedly. "Just this morning!"

"That's great!" I said, grinning.

"Congratulations," Link agreed.

"Where's Mudkip?" Butterfree asked.

She was patrolling the coast road. But a Mudkip patrolling the road alone might seem odd. "She's doing a favor for Lucario," I said. "She'll be back in the evening."

"Hey Butterfree," a voice called. Surskit flitted into view. "I told you to wait up! I can't keep up with you when you fly like that!"

"Sorry," Butterfree said. "I wanted to catch them before they left."

Surskit sighed. "Man, I hope I can evolve soon. It stinks getting left behind all the time."

"Well, I couldn't move for an entire week," Butterfree countered. "And you've always been faster than me. This is my chance to be fastest!"

"Okay," I said, trying to keep them from starting an argument. "Surskit, you're probably pretty close to evolving yourself."

Link nodded in agreement. "I'll bet any day now."

"Why don't you help them then? Isn't that what a rescue Team is for?" Link and I grimaced at each other as Pontya walked up to us.

"They have helped us train before," Butterfree told Ponyta. "That's how I evolved into a Metapod."

"That so?" Ponyta asked, eying Butterfree. For the few days she and her father had been here, we'd managed to avoid her. Apparently that was at an end. Mew said that I was involved in Ponyta as a human. I grimaced at the thought. That would be a reason not to go home.

"Well," Ponyta continued, circling around us, head raised in her usual haughty manner. "I think I'll come with you. This town is too crowded for my taste. And I've never seen a…" she cast a glance at Surksit, "a bug evolve before."

I buried my reaction to this statement.

"Yeah, sure! You can come train with us!" Susrkit announced. Although he'd never met Ponyta, he was naturally outgoing. Though I would have preferred that he not invite Ponyta along.

"I'll just watch," Ponyta replied, turning her nose up slightly.

Link and I sighed, but lead the way out of Charm Town. Since we'd finished our training with Tyranitar, we didn't have any easy excuses. But I was tired and didn't particularly feel like doing anything.

As we headed out of the town, I was tempted to tell Ponyta to train Surskit, just to keep her busy and out of my hair (or lack thereof). But I didn't want to inflict that on Surskit.

"Okay, here we are," I sighed as we arrived at the field where we trained them before.

Link glanced around, looking for an opponent. "There's a Pachirisu."

I shook my head. "Butterfree and Surskit have a type disadvantage to that."

"Right," Link muttered, and continued to peer over the grass. "A Gulpin."

I nodded in approval.

Surskit dashed in and Butterfree circled around behind Gulpin to back Surskit up.

I realized that I was spacing out, and shook my head to make myself focus. "Look out for Sludge," I called.

Surskit hopped to the side and the purple glob fell to the ground where he'd been standing.

Butterfree swooped in to use Tackle, and Gulpin faced her.

"No!" I shouted. "Butterfree, stop!"

Gulpin's mouth stretched wide open, ready to swallow Butterfree. Butterfree, terrified, tried to swerve.

A bright flame shot through the air, straight into Gulpin's mouth, making him wilt and spout smoke. I looked to the side to see Ponyta standing thee, mouth open from the attack.

Butterfree crashed into Gulpin's head, avoiding the mouth. She quickly scrambled free.

"Surskit, you can finish it with Bubble!" I called.

After the attack, Gulpin turned and wobbled away.

"Nice, guys." I turned to Ponyta. "You're fast. And a quick thinker too. Thanks."

She puffed her chest up.

I sighed, but continued, "If you want, you can join them in training. That way they could take on higher-level Pokémon." She was a higher level than Surskit, but not by much.

She tilted her head to the side. "Mmm, well, I guess so," she said with the air of doing someone a great favor. "You're a coach, or something? Well, let's see what you've got."

…

We returned to Charm Town before the sun began to sink. Being caught outside at night was a bad idea these days.

But our original goal was accomplished. Beside Link, Ponyta and I were flying two Pokémon: Butterfree and Masquerain.

And yeah, Ponyta was rather vain and bossy. But she wasn't nearly as bad as I figured she'd be. When we first met her, she was probably tired and cranky from having to leave her home and walk for several miles. Which was understandable.

Back in town, the square was filled with Pokémon that were eating dinner. I saw Honchkrow and Tyranitar, as well as some of the fellow boarders from Arcanine's house. Rapidash was standing at a table, nibbling on a salad.

"Daddy," Ponyta sang, prancing proudly over to him.

"Oh, there you are," Rapidash said. "I was wondering where you'd gone. This isn't home, so you need to tell me when you take off."

"I helped Surskit evolve," she announced, pointing her nose at the two bugs beside us.

Rapidash smiled. "That's nice. Congratulations for evolving."

Masquerain spun in an excited circle. "Thanks! Flying is so awesome! But I'm really hungry. Come on, Butterfree! Let's go get some food!"

The two turned and thanked us once before before speeding to the nearby café.

"Let's get some food too," Link suggested. I nodded and we started to follow Butterfree and Masquerain.

But I stopped.

"What is it?" Link asked.

"Listen," I muttered.

We both turned our gazes towards Lucario's office. A faint boom sound came from behind it. Then a louder one. A few of the nearby Pokémon turned their heads. A startled Lopunny appeared at the door of Lucario's office, peering outside.

Something dark slipped out from behind the building. And a moment later, Lucario leapt into view from behind his office. He skidded to a halt and began charging Aura Sphere. The black thing flickered away from him, towards the square. I squinted, trying to figure out what it was. A flat black thing. No… that wasn't it. A shadow. A shadow traveling along the ground.

Except there was nothing to cast a shadow.

Lucario unleashed Aura Sphere and it struck the fleeing shadow, making the same boom sound we'd heard before.

There was a grunt of pain, and something large and solid flew out of the shadow, skidding along the ground towards Pachirisu. She squealed and dashed in the opposite direction.

The figure reached out an arm and pushed itself upright.

Darkrai.

I gulped and took a step backwards. A nightmare Pokémon. It must be one of Mewthree's spies.

Tyranitar and Honchkrow were on their feet and ready for battle in an instant.

Darkrai and Lucario faced each other. Lucario had the type advantage. Hopefully he'd be able to drive the intruder away.

The two Pokémon launched forwards and managed to circle around each other so that Lucario's back was towards us. He launched another Aura Sphere, but Darkrai dashed upwards out of the way and launched Dark Void. Lucario dodged, realizing too late that he should have tried to stop the attack. It was heading straight for the shocked crowd standing in the square.

I dragged Link away from Dark Void. We were several feet away when the attack hit Togekiss and Kirlia. The two of them collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Lucario, furious, prepared to launch another attack.

There was a faint whistling sound. I looked up to see something red streaking out of the sky. It was moving so fast that the air around it was was making a faint shrieking sound.

Lucario sensed its approach and began to step sideways. But the thing was so fast that it clipped his shoulder and sent him skidding across the ground. He stood up and winced, gripping his shoulder. I inhaled sharply.

The new Pokémon came to a halt beside Darkrai, and the two of them floated there, staring out over the crowd, ready to attack whoever came towards them.

I stared at the new Pokémon. That red and green body, those long tentacle arms. It could only be a Deoxys. The alien Pokémon.

Darkrai and Deoxys. Now what would we do?

Tyranitar and Honchkrow were still, not wanting to provoke the enemies into attacking and hitting the terrified bystanders. While some of the Pokémon had fled the square, there were still many left. Such as Ponyta, her father, Butterfree, and Masquerain.

_Cara! _The urgent voice echoed in my head, making me jump and let out a frightened squeak. Darkrai and Deoxys's eyes snapped over to lock on me.

_Cara! _Mew repeated, moreurgent now. _The Darkrai and the Deoxys! They are our friends! You must stop the fight! _Now_! _

I blinked in surprise. "Link!" I hissed. "They're with us! _With us_!"

"What?" Link whispered, uncomprehendingly. I took a step forwards.

There was a banging sound across the square. Darkrai and Deoxys turned to face it.

A door had flown open. The door to the clinic. For a moment, Latios and Latias were visible inside the building. Latios suddenly vanished, the air slightly distorted where he had been floating a moment before. He'd used an illusion to make himself invisible.

With a rush of air, he rocketed towards the two intruder Pokémon. Tyranitar and Honchkrow used the distraction as an opportunity to break free of the crowd and charge towards Deoxys and Darkrai.

Before I knew it, I was running. I was closer than Latios was. I might be able to beat him to Deoxy ad Darkrai.

I watched the blur of Latios shoot towards us, trying to make my feet go faster. Stupid short legs! Deoxys and Darkrai each began preparing their own attacks.

I threw myself forwards in front of Deoxys and Darkrai. I flung my arms open wide and faced Latios.

"STOP!" I bellowed.

I squinted my eyes shut, waiting to feel Latios crash into me, or to have the attacks of Deoxys and Darkrai slam into my back. But none of that happened. There were only two faint bangs above me.

I slowly opened one eye and saw a shimmer in the air directly in front of me. Latios had stopped just inches short of hitting me.

Deoxys and Darkrai had managed to avert their attacks, sending them harmlessly into the red sunset sky.

The moment hung suspended in time. The two strange Pokémon behind me, the invisible Latios in front of me. Lucario over to the side, still clutching his shoulder. Honchkrow and Tyranitar ten feet away, poised to attack. Ponyta, Butterfree, and Masquerain staring at me in shock. Lopunny's wide eyes. Every eye in the square fixed on me.

Link, his mouth opened, a few steps in front of where I'd left him.

I began to tremble. But there was still something I had to do. I knew I was capable of it, even if I didn't quite remember how it worked.

_Deoxys, Darkrai, _I called out telepathically. I heard a faint shift behind me as they reacted to my voice. _Mew's waiting for you outside of town. You need to get out of here now. _

Although I didn't turn around, I could almost sense Darkrai slipping back into the shadows. Deoxys turned, and the two of them fled into the darkness of the forest.

Which left me there, in front of everyone.

I finally dropped my arms and took a step backwards. I felt a cold sweat break out on my skin.

Link snapped out of his stupor and rushed forwards. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away, out of the square. All eyes watched us go.

He didn't stop until he'd pulled me all the way to Arcanine's house, up to my room.

I backed into a corner and crouched there.

"Oh, God," I whispered, my voice shaking. "Oh, God, I really screwed up. In front of everyone!"

"But they were your friends, right?" Link asked. "You said that they were some of the friends that came to help you!"

I looked down to see my claws trembling. "Link, everyone saw the fight. Everyone thinks that Darkrai and Deoxys came here to attack the village for Mewthree! Even if it was just in self defense, Deoxys hurt Lucario. And Darkrai threw Togekiss and Kirlia into his nightmares! No one will believe that they're innocent! And everyone will think that I'm the spy." I buried my face in my hands.

Link didn't respond, probably because he couldn't think of what to say.

"L-look," he said finally. "We'll go see Lucario in the morning. You can tell him exactly what happened. He's got to understand! Cara… please don't leave!"

Startled by the quaver in his voice, I looked up to see tears glimmering at the edge of Link's eyes. He hurriedly brushed them away.

In spite of myself, I smiled. "You really want me to stay that much?"

"It's stupid, huh," Link muttered, turning away from me. "I mean, I know you're not from here. That you're not a Pokémon. That you have to leave soon anyway."

It began to dawn on me what my leaving Charm Town would do to Link. We were partners. What would become of him when I was no longer there to help him on his missions? What would become of him when his closest friend disappeared?

Link took a deep breath, trying to get a grip on his emotions. "Anyway, let's at least talk to Lucario in the morning. Okay?"

I didn't respond right away. "Let's wait until Mew gets back," I said finally.

As it turned out, that didn't take long. Just two minutes later, she teleported into our room and assumed her normal shape.

"Whoo, that was a close one," she said, giving a low whistle. She seemed oblivious to the heavy mood hanging over town. "Good job, Cara. I found Phantom and Deoxys and brought them to where Entei, Suicune, and Raikou are. Now all we need to do is wait for Mewtwo to come back with your memories!" She paused. "Phantom and Deoxys didn't realize that you were Cara. When I told them, the first thing Phantom said was 'why didn't she call me Phantom?'"

I felt an unexpected twinge in my stomach.

"Phantom?" Link repeated.

Mew nodded. "It's the name Cara gave to Darkrai."

Link nodded in understanding. "Did you see what happened in town?"

Mew hesitated. "Looks like things got pretty serious. A couple unconscious Pokémon were brought to the clinic. Lucario had a dislocated shoulder, but Tyranitar helped him fix it."

A dislocated shoulder. No wonder he seemed to be in so much pain. At least nothing was broken.

"Cara thinks that people will suspect that she's the spy," Link said darkly. "Since she ran out to stop the fight."

Mew was silent.

"So we're going to see Lucario in the morning," Link concluded.

Mew nodded. "Yeah. Good idea."

"I'd better get back to my room before everyone else gets home," Link said. "We'll get everything fixed in the morning." He cast me one last glance, and then left our room. Apparently he trusted Mew to keep me around until morning.

Mew flew over to look at me. "Hey. You all right?"

I nodded and got to my feet. "Yeah. Sure. Come on. Let's go to sleep."

…

I knew I wouldn't fall asleep. Not after what had happened.

I couldn't stay here anymore. It would just cause trouble for Charm Town. I'd stay with my friends in the little glade outside of town. We could still try to keep the coast road safe. That way we could be a bit helpful as we waited for Mewtwo to return.

And I couldn't stay with Link any longer.

The longer we were together, the worse it would be for him when I finally left. It was bad enough as it was. Anymore, and my leaving might tear him apart. Maybe he could get Butterfree and Masquerain to take my place in his Rescue Team. Team Avalon.

I waited.

I waited until Mew made small huffing sounds in her sleep.

I waited until all the lights had gone off in Charm Town.

I waited until midnight had come and gone.

And then I waited some more.

When the darkness of night hung thick over town, I very slowly crawled away from Mew and stood up. She'd find out soon enough where I'd gone, and she'd catch up.

And for Link… It was probably better if I didn't say goodbye. If I just slipped away as mysteriously as I'd arrived. Maybe this way… I'd hurt him less. Less than if I waited.

I hesitated, then picked up my aviators cap with the rescue badge pinned to it. I left my room and stepped silently towards the door to Link's room.

He was shifting uneasily in his sleep, as though Darkrai's nightmares were getting to him. I stood there for a minute.

"Thank you," I whispered. "For everything." I unpinned my badge and left it to the side of the doorway. I turned towards the stairs and continued walking. I reached up to brush the hot trickles off of my cheeks.

I stepped quietly down the stairs and out of the front door.

Across the deserted, dark Charm Town Square.

Past Lucario's office.

"Cara?"

Lopunny was peering out the window at me.

I was too worn down to even be startled.

"Cara, what are you doing at this hour?"

I didn't respond.

"Wait there. Let me come out."

Her face disappeared from the window, and a minute later the door opened.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked, kneeling at my side.

"Why are you up?" I asked stupidly.

She glanced back at the office. "I don't know if you heard, but Lucario dislocated his shoulder. He'll be fine, but he really needs to rest. Unfortunately this means that he'll fall behind again. I was trying to organize some of his work so that it will be easier to get everything done. Now, why are you out here?"

"I'm leaving," I said flatly.

"Leaving?" She asked, startled.

"Yeah. Everyone saw what happened. I stopped them from attacking Darkrai and Deoxys. Even after that big fight. Everyone will think that I'm the spy. Especially you, Tyranitar, and Lucario, since you know that I'm a human and that I'm with Mew."

Lopunny cocked her head. "Why _did_ you stop them from attacking Deoxys and Darkrai?"

"Because they're my friends," I said, frustrated. "Except I didn't remember my friends. I can't remember any of my friends!" I stopped, because my voice was getting louder. To my annoyance, tears were beginning to spring out of my eyes again. I angrily brushed them away. "I don't even remember the Pokémon that are coming all the way to this world to help me get home. "These Pokémon are coming to a different _world_ for me! I don't remember Mew, even though she's been looking after me this whole time. I would have let Deoxys and Darkrai get pummeled if she hadn't told me to stop the fight."

A sob somehow escaped from my mouth. And before I knew it, I was crying openly, my shoulders shaking with sobs.

Lopunny placed an arm around my shoulders. "Sweetie, none of this is your fault. Everything will be okay. There's a Pokémon that will help you get your memories back, right? Then you'll remember your friends soon."

I took deep breaths, trying to gain control of my voice. "I still can't stay here. No one will believe that I don't work for Mewthree. It will be bad if I stay. I don't belong here anyway. And… and I can't do anymore to Link."

Lopunny smiled and lifted her arm off of my shoulders. "Cara, honey, Link's happier than I've seen him since he moved here. And you and Mew have done so much for this town. You've done so much to help us. We're not going to throw all of that away just because of a misunderstanding. I don't know what humans are like, but Pokémon are understanding." She gave a small laugh. "It really was a mistake. Lucario told me that he saw Darkrai's shadow and just assumed it must be an enemy. He attacked before asking questions. Then again, Darkrai do have pretty bad reputations. Not to mention Deoxys."

When I didn't respond, she continued. "I know I can't make you stay here. But as long as you're on the world, I think we're better off with you here. Especially Link."

I nodded.

"Come inside. It's cold out here. I'll make you a cup of tea. Try not to make too much noise though. Lucario's asleep."

I sat in silence as she heated the water and added the leaves.

"It's best not to act too abruptly on your emotions," Lopunny explained as she stirred in a spoonful of honey. "I understand that you were upset this evening. But when people act on their emotions, without giving themselves a chance to cool, without letting their reason kick in, they usually regret it later."

I nodded and accepted the mug of tea from her. I cupped the warm mug in my hands and slowly sipped the hot liquid. I thought about what she said about Pokémon being more understanding that people. She was definitely right, because even at this moment I was wondering if Lopunny was the spy.

A while later, Lopunny looked out the window. "It will be sunrise soon. Are you going back to Arcanine's house?"

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving though," I assured her. "I just want to be alone for a while. To think."

Lopunny nodded. "All right. I'll see you in the morning then? I'd better try to get some sleep before then."

I left the office and continued out of Charm Town. But I didn't go to the glade where my friends were waiting. Instead I climbed down the trail to the beach where I met Link.

I walked along the ocean until I came to the spot where I woke up without my memories. I sat down on the cold sand. There was no trace of the sun beyond the ocean. I wasn't too cold though. My Charmeleon fire kept me warm.

I curled up in the sand, and before I knew it, I'd drifted off to sleep.

…

Some strange scuffing sound. What was it? I didn't want to wake up yet.

The waves. Yes, the waves. They sounded so nice. Maybe they'd drown out that approaching scuffing sound. That sound of footsteps on sand.

"Cara!"

I sat up and turned blearily to see a blurry figure rapidly approaching me. A yellow figure.

It was link, sprinting towards me on all fours.

"Cara!" He shouted again. He wasn't slowing down. My brain was too sleepy to even think of moving. Before I knew it, he tackled me and pinned me to the ground.

"You!" he shouted, and I realized that he was angry. Oh, right. I guess he has a right to be.

"You!" He repeated, apparently too mad to say anything beyond that. I pushed him off of me, which wasn't too hard since I was bigger than him.

"How dare you!" He said finally. "Don't you ever do that to me again! I wake up and find your pin at my door! And then you're gone! Just gone! Do you know how scared I was? Nothing! You didn't say anything! You just disappeared!"

I glanced away. "I guess I'm a pretty big jerk, huh?"

"No!" He shouted. "That's the thing! You're not a jerk! And then you go and do something like this! You're just stupid! I told you! I told you we'd see Lucario in the morning! _Why didn't you wait for me_?"

I stared at the hurt, betrayed expression on his face.

"Stupid," I repeated. "I guess I am pretty stupid, huh?"

"You just sound even more stupid when you say that!"

I didn't argue.

We sat there, and for a long time we didn't say anything. I noticed that it was past dawn.

"How'd you know I was here?" I asked finally.

Link hesitated. "When I realized you were gone, I thought that maybe I'd find you at the glade with Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. I hoped that you hadn't left yet. But as I left town… I don't know. Something told me to go down to the beach instead. And there you were." He looked a bit sheepish, no doubt feeling silly at following such a random direction.

"Well, you're intuition was right," I said.

He nodded.

Silence again.

"Come on. Let's get back to town before Mew wakes up," Link suggested.


	25. The Price of Home

I was going to include the next mission in this chapter, but it ended up being really long.

Cara's in a gloomy mood in this chapter. Bear with her. She'll get over it!

Price of Home

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Link demanded. "Come on! Let's get back to town. You said we'd go see Lucario!"

We still hadn't left the beach, where we'd spent a long time sitting silently and staring out at the waves.

I nodded mutely, but didn't move.

Link let out a low growl and smacked me with his tail.

"I don't really want to go into town," I admitted, brushing his tail away.

"Now you're being stupid again! You're afraid that people will see you? Lucario's office is just outside the square. You probably won't see anyone anyway."

"Yeah." But I still didn't move.

Link glared at me, and I got to my feet. "I'm tired," I explained. "I didn't really sleep last night."

"I wonder why," Link grumbled. He dragged my arm until I began to follow him up the trail. But when we reached the edge of town, I hesitated again.

Link paused and looked at me. He'd had an annoyed, irritated expression on his face since he'd found me sleeping on the beach. Now he looked concerned. "Are you really that scared?"

"I don't know."

Link held out his hand, and I saw he was holding my rescue badge. I accepted it and pinned it back onto my hat.

Link hesitated. "If it helps, I'll make sure the coast is clear."

"Okay." I started walking again. "By the way… thanks."

Link looked at me oddly. "You're acting really weird today."

"Okay."

"See! That's exactly what I mean!" He waved his hand and continued walking. He clearly hoped this was a phase that I'd get out of soon.

There was a flicking sound. I looked up to see that something had appeared a few yards in front of us.

"Mew," Link said, startled.

Mew fixed her eyes on me. "_Here_ you are! Sheesh! What were you doing, disappearing like that? I wake up and find both of you gone! I looked all over! Why didn't you wake me up if you were leaving?"

"We thought you might be tired from patrolling yesterday," Link said. I glanced at him. He was still covering for me, even after I tried to run away.

"And it's not like we were going anywhere dangerous. We just went down to the beach."

Mew huffed. "Can't you at least leave me a note?"

"Sorry," I said.

Mew floated up to me and peered into my face. My unresponsiveness confused her.

"Can you teleport us back to the room?" I asked.

Link glanced at me, but a moment later, we were standing in the room Mew and I shared.

For a while, there was silence.

"I'm going to get some food," I announced. "I didn't eat dinner or breakfast."

"Could you get me something?" Link asked. "I didn't eat breakfast either."

I nodded and left the room. I wasn't actually too hungry, but I wanted something to do.

I went downstairs and found that the living room was empty. But as I went to the kitchen, I found Arcanine.

She smiled and greeted me. "You must have been tired to sleep in so late. Yesterday must have been a long day, huh?"

I looked up at her. I had no doubt that she was referring to the incident last night. But she didn't seem suspicious or distant.

"I'll make you something to eat," Arcanine offered. She moved towards the cabinet.

"Um, Arcanine?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind telling me about Link?"

Arcanine turned to look at me, confused. "You should know him better than I do. Aren't you a friend of his family?"

Right. That was supposed to be my cover story.

"I mean, what did he do when he got to Charm Town? Before I got here?"

"Well, he came here because he wanted to start a rescue team," Arcanine said. "He needed a place to stay, so I offered him a room here. Except he never really did find anyone that he could start a rescue team with. It was mainly due to bad timing. He arrived a few months ago, right before the Mewthree incident. So, by the time he was settled in, all of the local rescue teams had spread out to patrol and help Pokémon. The only Pokémon that really remained in Charm Town were either not the right material for a rescue team, or had previous obligations. I just assumed you came up here because Link had no one else to join him. Was that not the case?"

"I guess," I muttered. "I did notice that while Link knows a lot of the Pokémon around town, he doesn't seem like he has any close friends."

Arcanine nodded. "I noticed that too. Does he often have trouble getting close to others?"

"I… I didn't think so."

"Then again, he's been much more open since you got here. Maybe a familiar face was all he needed."

I wondered what Arcanine would say if she knew that I'd never seen Link until a few weeks ago.

Arcanine used her paw to flip a few rolls onto a tray. "Here you go."

"Thanks," I said, accepting the tray. I headed back upstairs.

But my room was empty.

I heard voices coming from down the hall. I set the tray down and followed them.

I paused outside of Link's room. He was saying something.

"… I've been meaning to ask you for a while, but never really got the chance." He paused. "Would it be possible when you go back to your own world… I mean… would it be possible for, uh, another Pokémon to go with you? I would have asked Cara, but since her memories are gone…"

I swallowed. He knew that I couldn't stay here with him. But he was actually willing to leave his own world to come with me?

There was a long silence. Then Mew replied, her voice laced with regret. "There's a lot you need to understand about that. If you were to come back to our world, Cara would no longer be able to fight alongside you like she does now. Humans aren't capable of the things that a Pokémon can do. And while I'm sure that Cara would not love you any less when she gets home, she has dozens of other Pokémon that she needs to spend time with and train. Other Pokémon that she also loves. She leaves for long periods of time where she can take only six Pokémon with her. And that team is constantly rotating. Also, our world is very different from yours. Here Pokémon live in their own villages, with their own shops and cafés. There's nothing like that on our world. Pokémon cannot speak there either. Actually, Cara would still be able to understand you, because she can use telepathy. And Hari can understand Pokémon too. But almost all other humans, like Ben, would not be able to understand you."

Link didn't respond. But I heard footsteps, so I quickly backed away from the door and ducked inside my room.

A minute later, Mudkip/Mew walked inside. I stared at her.

"Why did you do that?"

She looked at me sadly. "He had to understand. And since you couldn't tell him… well, someone had to."

Link walked into the room, smiling. Though I couldn't help feeling that the smile wasn't genuine.

"Oh, good. You got breakfast. I'm starving!" He grabbed one of the rolls and took a bite out of it. I followed suit automatically, but barely tasted the food. Mew took one too.

Link swallowed. "Okay. Come on. We should head down to Lucario's office. They'll probably be there by now."

"Could you teleport us?" I blurted out.

Mew looked at me oddly. "Do you feel like not walking, or something? You don't usually have me teleport you somewhere so… close."

"She doesn't want to go into town," Link said, exasperated.

For once, Lopunny wasn't there to greet us. No doubt she was sleeping, since she got no more sleep than I did last night. But we let ourselves in and waited on one of the benches.

"Where do you think Lucario and Lopunny are?" Mew asked, letting herself turn back into a Mew.

"Sleeping, probably," I muttered, yawning. "Lopunny was up most of the night, trying to cover for Lucario."

"Was she?" Link asked.

I nodded. "She invited me in for… tea."

"What were you doing out last night?" Mew asked.

"I was going to see Deoxys and Darkrai… Phantom," I corrected myself. Which was true. What I didn't say was that I had intended to stay with them.

"Which reminds me," Mew said. "They gave me a report. Until Mewtwo comes back, Phantom and Deoxys are the last ones who will be joining us. There were some other Pokémon involved in the search, but they all returned to our own planet."

"What other Pokémon?" Link asked curiously.

"Oh, Jirachi, Rayquaza, Latias, and Latios."

Link looked impressed.

The door handle rattled, and the three of us looked up. Mew quickly shifted into her Mudkip disguise.

It was Lopunny. She shut the door behind her. Mew sighed, and let herself return to her normal form.

"Oh, you're here!" Lopunny looked relieved to see that I hadn't left. "I hoped you'd come, though I did oversleep a bit."

"Sorry for keeping you up last night," I said.

"It's fine," Lopunny said, smiling and waving a hand dismissively. "Lucario should be here soon. He should stay home because of his shoulder, but knowing him, he'll be here anyway."

"I should see if I can help heal his shoulder," Mew offered.

"Can you do that?" Lopunny asked, surprised.

Mew nodded and glanced at me. "I once cured an island of a disease. A re-located shoulder shouldn't be too much of a problem."

There was a knock at the door, and Mew turned into a Mudkip once more. Lopunny opened it, but no one was there. She looked perplexed. But then a voice came from the area just outside the door.

"It's us."

"Oh," Lopunny exclaimed. She stepped to the side, and something blurry moved through the air. Or maybe it was two blurry things?

Lopunny shut the door, and the two blurry things materialized into Latios and Latias. Mew sighed and turned back into Mew again. I scooted back in my chair, as if I could hide behind Link. But he was smaller than me, so it was a pointless gesture.

Latios and Latias looked at me.

"Sorry about yesterday."

I looked at Latios, surprised.

"I mean," he continued, "Lucario said that Deoxys and Darkrai were probably friends of yours. I heard the battle and saw Deoxys hit Lucario and just assumed…"

Latias sighed. "You're the ones that came to rescue us, and we tried to attack your friends.

"It wasn't your fault," I blurted. "I mean, it was just a misunderstanding."

"And admittedly, they do look a bit shady," Mew said brightly.

"That is a terrible Darkrai pun," I groaned. The others smiled. Mew giggled.

The door handle clattered again, and for the third time, Mew hurriedly transformed into Mudkip.

Lucario paused in the doorway, startled to see so many people waiting there.

Mew let her disguise dissolve, muttering in annoyance.

"What's all this?" Lucario asked. He walked in, limping slightly. I winced when I saw that his arm was in a sling.

"Come sit down," Lopunny said, guiding him to the nearest chair.

Lucario gave a wry smile. "I hurt my arm. I'm not at death's door, you know."

"You still work yourself too hard," Lopunny huffed.

Latias gestured for Link and I to go first, but I shook my head. "Go on. I don't know how long we'll take."

"Thanks." Latios glided forward. "My back is fully healed now. So the two of us would like to volunteer to help out, or possibly patrol."

"No," said Lucario, with such finality that Latios and Latias looked startled.

"Mewthree already ordered your attack once," Lucario continued. "I know it may be inconvenient for you, but you need to stay in town where it's safe. The fewer people that see you, the better."

Latias sighed and her head drooped.

"They could join Raikou, Suicune, and Entei," Mew suggested.

"I know that your legendary friends are strong, but there are too many unknowns out there right now," Lucario replied. "I realize that you want to be helpful, and that you don't like staying indoors. But we're concerned for your safety. And if, somehow, one of you is captured…"

"You mean if Mewthree manages to steal our souls," Latios said dryly.

"Yes. If that were to happen, it could put the rest of us at risk too."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Latias huffed. "We just thought we'd offer, is all. Thanks for your time."

"I hope your arms gets better," Latias called as the two of them flickered and disappeared. Lopunny opened the door, and they glided outside.

Lucario turned his attention to us. "I guess I don't need to ask why you're here. I did start a bit of a fiasco last night."

I opened my mouth, but Lucario continued talking.

"I saw the shadow from my office window, and recognized that it must be a Darkrai. I'd never come across a Darkrai before, and I'd rarely heard anything but bad news about them. So, I attacked."

"I didn't know what was going on," Lopunny said, giving a little laugh. "I just saw him leap out the window."

Lucario gave a half smile. "I guess these are the times we live in. Attack first, ask questions later. I didn't realize I'd sunk quite so far."

"It makes sense," I replied. " You need to be careful."

There was a tapping sound from one of the back rooms.

"It's probably a messenger," Lopunny explained. "I'll go check." She left the room.

"It was a stupid thing to do though," Lucario growled. "If I thought about it, I would have realized that a Darkrai was a dangerous enemy to make! Even without considering that he had a Deoxys on his side."

"It wasn't your fault," Link assured him. "But I think Cara has been overreacting to the whole thing. She's afraid to go into town now!"

I shot him a withering look.

Lucario looked at me, perplexed. "Why? Because you stopped a big battle in the middle of town?"

"Because she thinks that everyone will think that she's the spy," Link exclaimed, eshasperated.

I looked away, annoyed.

"If anything is suspicious," Lucario said, smirking, "it's how worried you are that everyone will think you're the spy. This isn't the first time, is it?"

"She's just so suspicious looking, isn't she?" Link laughed, grabbing my shoulders and turning me to face Lucario. I turned to raise my eyebrows at Link.

Lopunny reappeared, carrying an envelope. "Staravia brought this. She said it was urgent."

"Okay," Lucario sighed. "Did you need anything else?"

Mew nodded. "Let me see your shoulder."

Lucario cocked his head, but nodded.

"Stand up," Mew commanded. Lucario did so. Mew flew around behind him and placed her hands on his shoulder, beneath the strap of the sling. She shut her eyes and her hands began to glow with a green light, which faded after about ten seconds.

Lucario looked surprised. "That feels better. Cooler, almost. What did you do?"

Mew smiled. "Just a healing move. I can do it again later, if you like." Once again, she turned back into a Mudkip, and the three of us left.

We began walking away from Lucario's office, and I opened my mouth to suggest that we go the back way. But before we'd gotten more than twenty feet from the office, the door opened and Lopunny called out to us.

"Can you come back? Lucario just received a mission for you."


	26. Electric Rock

Later in the chapter, there's spoilers for Mystery Dungeon Time, Darkness, and Sky. Though it's old enough that probably everyone who wanted to has played it already.

^-^'

But ask me if you want to know which part to avoid.

Electric Rock

The three of us sat down in front of Lucario's desk.

"We just got an urgent request for help," Lucario said, showing us the open letter that he held. "It came from Mount Labyrinth. I'm sure you've met the two Kecleon brothers that run the shop in town. They went up to the mountains, accompanied by one of our best rescue teams. They travel up there every now and then to gather evolution stones. I thought they'd have sense to wait until the whole Mewthree incident was settled, since Mount Labyrinth is where he's said to be hiding. But I guess they were convinced that the rescue team would be able to take care of them. While I haven't met this team myself, I have heard of their reputation. They're from Treasure Town. I believe Wigglytuff mentioned them to you." I wondered how many rescue teams Wigglytuff had mentioned.

"They are one of the best rescue teams around, but even they can't deal with every strange accident that comes along. Apparently wild Pokémon attacked and caused one of the tunnels to collapse. Which means that one of the Kecleon brothers is trapped in the maze of tunnels for which Mount Labyrinth is named."

"You can count on us," Link said confidently.

"I'll get us there right away," Mew assured him.

I nodded.

"Very well. We're counting on you. The Kecleon brothers have been very important to our town for a long time. The sooner they're safe, the better. They're waiting near the trail, where it starts to skirt around the mountain range."

"We'll get our stuff!" Without another word, Mew teleported us back to our rooms so we could gather our bags.

Once we were ready, Mew teleported us to the northern-most point we'd visited, which was Manectric's cave. We dropped in momentarily to check on Manectric, Elekid, and the two Celebi. Manectric's machine was coming along well.

Mew transformed into Fearow, and we flew north, towards the mountains that stabbed up into the clouds like so many jagged rows of Sharpedo teeth.

"It looks creepy," Link muttered, shivering.

"They're just mountains," I said, watching them as they slowly grew taller.

"But they're so… high! And sharp-looking."

"They do look pretty rocky. But I don't get why being high means they're scary."

He glanced at me. "There's nothing like them where I come from." I guess that made sense. Fear of the unknown, and all. And they certainly were imposing, challenging the sky as they were.

"And they say that weird things come out of the mountains."

"You mean like Mewthree?"

He shook his head. "No. Mewthree is new. There've always been rumors about strange Pokémon living in Mount Labyrinth. It's one of the most dangerous areas in Naratay. I knew that even before I moved to Charm Town."

"Maybe that's why Mewthree likes it."

Link nodded.

As we drew closer to the mountains, I could see why they appeared so menacing to Link and the other Pokémon. Mew was already flying high to clear the foothills, but the mountains towered above us, as though we were nothing more than little knats flitting around the heels of a Mamoswine. I swallowed, impressed.

Mew found the bend in the road and coasted down to land. She returned to her Mudkip form.

Link shot a bolt of lightning into the sky to signal our location. If this attracted any unwanted attention, at least Mew was here to help us.

About a minute later, three figures appeared. The largest one was easily recognizable as an Infernape. But only when they got closer did I recognize the other two as Jolteon and Kecleon (the green Kecleon).

"Thank you for coming," Jolteon said, smiling.

"You certainly got here fast," Infernape said, sounding impressed. "We were afraid we'd have to wait a long time."

But Green eyed us dubiously. "You're the ones that are supposed to rescue my brother?"

I looked at him, a bit startled. He'd always seemed very friendly at the shop.

"We didn't _have_ to come all the way out here," Link said irritably.

Green huffed. "What I mean is, how the heck are you three supposed to help us clear out a rock slide? You're no bigger than I am!"

"Trade secret," Mew said, smiling slyly. "Show us where to go."

Infernape ad Jolteon beckoned, and we followed them away from the main road, down a small trail that lead deeper into the mountains.

"Why did you come up to the mountains anyway if it was so dangerous?" I demanded of Green.

He turned to eye me imperiously. "Since you're not from around here, I don't expect you to know. This time every year, the Steelix and Onix travel to a certain area of the mountains to look for food. The tunnels they make open up new veins of evolution stones, which are very rare and extremely valuable. We need to get here right away to beat any other potential takers."

"So you risk your lives and those of the rescue team that's escorting you so you can make money?" I wasn't impressed.

"Some things require sacrifice. And during times like these, some Pokémon are desperate to evolve so they can better defend themselves."

I had to admit, he had a point there. Better we use them than the Pokémon Mewthree controlled.

"We had quite a collection of them as we were heading out. Unfortunately they got lost with brother Red. I do hope he hasn't lost them."

I wanted to say that he cared more about the stones than his brother, but I managed to grit my teeth and stay silent.

"And it doesn't bother us to escort them," Jolteon chipped in.

Infernape nodded. "We've been stationed up near the mountains for a couple months now. We're supposed to monitor any potential Mewthree activity. It's a nice change to have company, and a real mission."

"Although it _is_ dangerous," Jolteon continued. "So many of the Pokémon in these mountains are possessed. So consider any Pokémon you see a potential enemy."

We nodded.

Jolteon caught my eye and gestured for me to fall behind with her. I slowed my pace, letting Link, Infernape, Mew, and Kecleon get ahead of us.

"Are you Cara?" Jolteon asked.

Startled, I nodded.

Jolteon smiled. "Wigglytuff wrote me about you. He told me that you were a human, like me."

Then it clicked. Wigglytuff had told me about Jolteon and Infernape. He'd said that several years ago, another human had come here. A human that was turned into a Pokémon.

"He mentioned you!" I exclaimed.

Jolteon smiled. "I woke up with no memories. If it wasn't for Infernape (though he was a Chimchar at the time) I would have been completely lost."

I nodded in understanding. "Same with me. I don't know what I would have done without Link. Did you get your memories back?"

Jolteon shook her head, giving a sad smile. "I didn't. But I know where I came from. It's a place I can never go back to. I'm happy that I'm able to make my life here now. I sometimes wish my memories went further back, but I've made plenty more memories to make up for them."

I looked up at the mountains. "A place you can never go back to. That must be hard."

"I don't really remember it. And the only Pokémon to tie me to it is gone. Grovyle." She gave a sad sigh. "I belong here now. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Hmmm."

Jolteon looked a bit shocked. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean that… I'm sure that you'll be able to go home. And your memories…"

"It's okay," I assured her. "There's a Pokémon out there who's looking for my memories for me. It's been a couple months. He's spent that much time looking for them. But I know he'll come back. And when he does… I should be able to go home. I love it here, and I've made a lot of friends. I would be happy to stay here. But… it's calling to me. My home. The memories of the people and Pokémon I loved. I know I can't let them go."

Jolteon smiled. "That's good. I'm sure you'll make it. You must have very good friends, if they're willing to go so far for you."

I nodded, and gestured up at Mew. "See Mudkip?"

Jolteon nodded.

"She's a friend from when I was a human. She came here to help me, along with a few others. She's been watching over and protecting us since she got here. And in addition to that, she's been going on patrols for Charm Town." I realized that this must be a strange commentary to give about a Mudkip. "She's really strong," I tacked on, lamely.

"I figured you must be good," Jolteon said. "Otherwise Lucario wouldn't have sent you."

"He really only sent us because Mew is with us."

"Mew?"

I opened my mouth, realizing too late the slip-up. Although the fact that I hadn't made this mistake before was pretty impressive.

"Uh… uh, yes." I swallowed, and then decided to lay everything out. "Yeah. Mudkip is actually Mew. That's why she's here to help look for Kecleon. She disguises herself so she doesn't draw attention."

Jolteon looked impressed.

I hesitated, and then said, "I actually came from a different dimension. That may sound hard to believe, but I fell through a hold Palkia made. At least, that's what they told me."

Jolteon shrugged. "Not that hard to believe. I came from the future."

_That_ surprised me.

She nodded. "Something had happened to Dialga, and the future was falling apart. Grovyle and I came back in time to fix it. That was when I lost my memories and became an Eevee. We did manage to save the future. I almost disappeared though."

"Disappeared?"

Jolton nodded. "Because I'd erased that future that I came from. My birth in the future never happened. Dialga saved me, somehow."

"Palkia and Dialga," I muttered. "Pretty big stuff."

Jolteon laughed. "No kidding."

I looked up to find that Link and our other two companions had disappeared. Panic rose inside me for a moment until I realized that they had just stepped inside a tunnel. Jolteon and I followed. Our combined fire and electricity lit our way.

The name Mount Labyrinth certainly suited the place well. Within the first ten minutes, he tunnel forked and branched so many times that it would have taken no more than three minutes to become hopelessly lost. We passed through narrow tunnels that Infernape could barely fit through, and large caverns, the ends of which faded into distant darkness. In some of these, we heard faint wing beats, or clatters of dislodged rock in the distance, but we hurried on before we could see what Pokémon were making the sounds.

Our path was marked by symbols scorched into the rock by Infernape.

Finally we arrived at the site of the rockslide. The entire tunnel was blocked by a jagged mass of rock and dirt. It had flung large stones several yards down the tunnel.

"You're sure this didn't crush Red?" Link asked, staring at the collapse.

Green placed his hands on his hips. "Of course not! We heard his voice afterwards!"

Jolteon leaned over and whispered to Link and I, "You'll have to forgive him for being irritable. He's just very worried about Red."

"I guess that makes sense," I muttered reluctantly.

Green ran up to the collapse and called, "Red! Red, are you there?"

No response.

Mew trotted past him and began to climb the debris, slipping on loose stones. She dislodged a small pile of rock, which rattled to the ground. Everyone flinched, fearing a further collapse of the tunnel.

"It's probably too dangerous to shift this," Mew called down to us. "The ceiling still looks unstable." As if to prove her point, a shower of dust fell down on top of her. She shook herself off. "I see a small opening. I'm going to squeeze through."

"An opening?" Green demanded. "We would have found an opening! If you could fit through it, Red would have been able to fit through, and we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"You'd be surprised what I could fit through," Mew said lightly. She climbed behind a rock and disappeared. Either she'd teleported, or transformed into something that could squeeze through small gaps. A moment later, we heard her muffled voice from the other side of the collapse.

"I'm through. But Red isn't here. I'll loop around and find a tunnel that connects back to you. When we're all through, we can follow his trail."

"Wait!" Infernape called. "Don't move! You'll get lost in the tunnels!"

"Don't worry," Jolteon said. She looked at me, and I nodded. Jolteon beckoned for Infernape to bend over, and she whispered to him, "That Mudkip is actually Mew."

Infernape looked startled.

"What is it?" Green asked, suspicious of Jolteon's whispers.

"Mudkip is very good at finding her way," I explained. "The fins on her head act like radar."

So, the five of us backtracked to the nearest fork in the tunnel and waited.

To our surprise, it took Mew only a couple minutes to find her way to us. "This way," she said, leading us deeper into the maze of tunnels and caverns.

It took was several minutes before we arrived at the other side of the rockslide.

"How'd you get here so fast," Green huffed, out of breath.

"Now what?" I asked. "The floor is rock. How are we supposed to pick up his trail? You'd think he would have stayed on one place."

"He would have stayed in one place!" Green protested. "He's not stupid!"

"He was probably chased away by the Aggron that attacked us."

"He might have run away, or been carried off," Infernape added. "But that doesn't mean we can't track him."

Jolteon smiled and nodded. "Actually, Link, you can help me with this."

I didn't know what they were talking about, but Link apparently did. Jolton and Link raised their noses to the air and sniffed.

Of course. Their noses were sensitive enough to pick up Red's scent. I was pretty sure that my sense of smell had improved since I became a human. But I lacked the skill to sort out scents of individuals.

"This way," Link and Jolteon chimed.

So we began following them.

The tunnel opened up into another cavern. I glanced to either side, but saw only darkness. I took a few steps forwards, but Infernape reached down and grabbed my shoulder.

I let out a frightened squeak. Less than a foot in front of me, the ground vanished over the edge of a cliff. I swallowed and took a step backwards. There was no more than a yard of space between the tunnel entrance and the drop. All of us peered over the side, but the bottom was nowhere in sight.

Infernaps spat out a little burst of flame, which traveled downwards until it fizzled out.

Still no sign of the bottom.

"You don't think," Link whispered.

But Mew pointed, and we saw a narrow trail leading alongside the cliff, off to our right. There was no more than three feet between the chasm and wall of the cavern. And in most places it looked narrower than that.

"That way," Jolteon said quietly.

And we began following the narrow ledge.

"There's footprints," Infernape said. He stepped over them, leaving them intact so the rest of us could see. "Aggron," Mew informed us. "It's amazing those huge things could fit on this path. But I guess they're well-practiced at it."

We reached an area where the trail had crumbled away, leaving a gap about four feet across. Undeterred, Infernape lifted Jolteon in one of his arms and scaled the uneven surface of the wall until he reached the other side. He deposited Jolteon and then came back for me. Link cling to his shoulder, and Infernape set us both down. Mew let him carry her across, and Green came last.

"I'm beginning to wish I'd waited outside, Green whimpered, clearly unnerved by his trip oer the chasm.

"It's too dangerous to leave you alone," Jolteon said lightly, and we continued on, single-file.

Finally, the pathway became wider, opening into a large rock room.

Across the room, there was something brown.

"That's our sack!" Green exclaimed.

His voice echoed eerily through the cavern, tumbling down the side of the cliff. At the sound of the noise, the sack stirred.

"That must be Red!" Green exclaimed. "I bet they tied him in the sack!"

Before any of us could stop him, he began running across the cave floor.

Mew sprinted off after him, calling for him to stop.

That was when the wall of the cave exploded, sending boulders tumbling across the room towards us. A hulking shape charged across the cave towards Mew and Green.

As a rock bounced at me, I flung myself to the side, crashing into Link. Both of us tumbled across the ground, landing at the edge of the narrow path. I felt my leg slip over the edge. I dug my claws in, keeping myself from slipping over the side. Below us, the shower of boulders smashed their way to the bottom of the deep cavern.

Something grabbed my tail, and I looked back to see Link hanging half over the edge. The only thing keeping him from falling was his hold on my tail. I quickly pulled myself up, carrying Link to safety.

"Where are Infernape and Jolteon?" Link exclaimed.

I saw a dim light from over the edge of the ledge and rushed to peer over. Fifteen feet below us, Infernape was clinging one-handed to a crag of rock, holding onto a terrified Jolteon with his other arm.

"Are you okay?" I shouted.

Infernape nodded. "We'll make it up! Help Mudkip!"

Link and I turned around. Kecleon was sprawled unconscious not far from the sack with his brother. Mew was dodging around a huge Aggron, avoiding swings of its tail and fists. But she didn't seem to be moving very fast, and I noticed that she was limping, her teeth grit in pain. I opened my mouth and sent out Flamethrower, making Aggron stumble to the side. Link and I charged forwards, sending out a series of attacks to drive our foe away from the injured Mew. She stood behind us and shot Water Gun into the air so that it rained down over Aggron.

Aggron narrowed his eyes, and I noticed that they were very dark – the sign of possession by Mewthree. He charged forwards, and the three of us scattered.

I found myself next to the sack and quickly used my claws to tear open the top of it.

A familiar head emerged, blinking dazedly.

"Carry Green to safety!" I told Red. I quickly dove to the side to avoid Aggron's tail, leaving Red to figure out my instructions.

I shot Ember at Aggron's back, and he turned to face me. I swallowed and turned to sprint away as Aggron charged at me. Link shot bolts of lightning at him, but they didn't have much effect on our foe. And Mew didn't dare attack for fear of hitting me with water.

I was running out of room. The wall was in front of me, and Aggron was quickly gaining. In fact, I feared that he might step on my tail.

I threw myself flat on my stomach and covered my head with my arms. The thundering footfalls shook the ground around me, and I felt the air rush as Aggron passed right over me.

I did a back roll, getting to my feet and running back towards Link and Mew.

I noticed that Red had managed to drag Green most of the way towards a little nook in the rock. When Aggron turned, his dark eyes fastened on the two defenseless forms. He charged.

Mew opened her mouth and let out Hydro Pump. The wash from the water shoved Red and Green rather hard into niche in the rock, and it made Aggron stagger backwards. His tail lashed out and struck the sack.

Evolution stones scattered across the wet cavern floor, clinking like glass as they hit the rock. One of them bounced all the way across the chamber, towards the rim of the cavern.

"The stone!" Red spluttered through a mouthful of water. "Get the stone!"

Link acted automatically, bounding along the ledge of the chasm (where Infernape had just poked his head into view). He leapt, catching the stone. He tucked and did a perfect roll, coming to his feet nest to the cliff edge, stone clutched in hand. As he stood proudly, the stone glinted in the light from Infernape's flame, and I saw it flash transparent green.

"The stone!" I shouted.

Link's eyes turned downward and focused on the Thundersone in his hands. His mouth opened in shock, and his ears drooped. His expression froze as the rest of him began to glow.

I stood there stupidly, ignoring the fight between Mew and Aggron that was going on behind me.

When the light faded, Link stood there, as baffled to be a Raichu as I had been to find that I was no longer human.

He shook his head, getting ahold of himself, and cast the spent Thunderstone to the side.

"Cara!"

I turned at the sound of Mew's voice and saw a huge gray tail coming right at me.

It slammed into my chest, sending me crashing into the rocky wall.

I landed upside-down in a pile of dirt and rock, bruised and scraped all over. I felt like my lungs had been crushed, and I gasped for breath.

Link sprang forwards, unleashing a blinding Thunder. Aggron, already soaked by Mew's attacks, reeled back, bellowing in pain.

As Link's Thunder attack faded, electricity rippled across Aggron. He tottered there for a moment, and then fell with a resounding crash that made part of the cliff dislodge and fall into the chasm.

My vision blurred, and I shut my eyes, trying to keep myself from passing out.

I felt hands tugging at me and I opened my eyes to see a Raichu staring down at me. It was hard to imagine that this was Link. But then again, his eyes were same. He was wearing his scarf and pin, and he still had that silly patch of fur that looked like bangs.

I tried to wriggle free of the rocks that buried me. Link helped tug me loose.

Once I was free, I collapsed on the ground, wheezing. I couldn't seem to get my lungs to expand properly.

"Are you okay?" Link asked, concerned.

"It's hard to breathe, I rasped.

Beyond Link, Jolteon and Infernape were gathering up the fallen evolution stones and stowing them safely in their rescue bags, since the sack had been shredded beyond use.

Mew limped up to us. "Let me see," she offered.

"How'd you get hurt?" I huffed.

"Like you did. Aggron sent me into the wall when he first jumped out. I tried to shield Green, but didn't quite make it." She placed a forefoot against my stomach, feeling my ribs. "Doesn't seem like anything's broken. I think you just got the wind knocked out of you. You'll get your breath back soon enough."

"I hope so," I wheezed.

"Doesn't seem like we were much help," Jolteon said, giving a half smile.

"Hey!" Infernape exclaimed, walking up to join us. "Link, you evolved!"

Link gave a small, guilty laugh. "I accidentally caught one of the Thunderstones. I hope Red and Green don't get mad."

"You just knocked out Aggron. I don't think you'll hear them complaining," Jolteon said, sounding amused.

Infernape went over to check on the Kecleon brothers.

I smiled. "Hey, Link, we're about the same size again." I laughed, but it quickly turned into a dry cough as my lungs protested.

"Hah!" Link exclaimed.

I looked up at him, startled.

"You just laughed," he said triumphantally. "And grinned too. It's the first time since last night."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

Infernape returned, carrying one Kecleon beneath each arm. Although Red was conscious, he looked weak.

Mew stepped up to look at Red. "Would you mind closing your eyes for a moment?"

Red was too dazed to object, and shut his eyes.

In a flash, Mew's Teleport landed us back in Charm Town.


	27. Shrinking Island

No big battles in this chapter. XP

To make up for it, I will tease you with the knowledge that the next chapter will answer a couple of the big mysteries I've been torturing with. XD

Someone suggested that I use a Poochyena character. I wasn't sure where to fit him in, and I'm running out of time for this fanfic. I'm afraid I didn't give him very much screen time. Sorry about that.

Shrinking Island

"Is that better?" Mew asked, peering over my shoulder. I nodded, but flinched as I stood up. Even though Mew had just finished spreading ointment over my scraped back, it still hurt when I moved. It had been hard to get to sleep last night because of it, even with the same ointment applied yesterday evening.

"How's your arm?" I asked.

There was a wrap around her arm that contained a healing poultice (which stayed in place whether she was a Mew or Mudkip). Mew looked down at it and shrugged. "Not bad. I've had much worse. It'll be good as new in a couple days."

"Be careful not to aggravate it."

Mew smiled. "It'll be fine. Lucario gave us the week off to recover. Although Jolteon and Infernape asked me to teleport them back to Mount Labyrinth this morning. I might stop by Manectric's cave on the way back. They're almost done with the machine, and my powers might be of use to them right now."

I nodded. That stuff at least shouldn't wear her out. Not compared to the stuff we'd been doing recently.

So, when Mew set off to pick up Jolteon and Infernape, Link and I headed into town.

"I gotta admit," Link said, folding his arms behind his head as we walked. "As exciting as missions are, it's really nice to be able to relax for a while. No trying to solve Tyranitar's puzzles, no battling our way through mazes. Just hanging out around town." He flicked his tail, very pleased with how long and fwooshy it was now that he was a Raichu. He'd gotten countless compliments on his evolution when we returned yesterday evening.

"So, what do you want to do?" I asked. "What _is_ there to do around here, anyway?" I realized that I hadn't taken part in many Charm Town activities besides training. "Is there a movie theatre or something?"

"A what?"

"Never mind. Something that doesn't involve much physical activity. Are there libraries or performances?"

"There are sometimes performances," Link agreed. "Though usually only for special occasions. And there's a library. Was there something you wanted to research?"

I shrugged. "I wasn't sure if there were any fun books to read."

Link looked at me oddly. "Are there books that are fun to read?"

I sighed. "Never mind. What do you usually do for fun?"

"There's a park."

"Oh, yeah. Except it hurts to do anything besides walk right now."

"Right. You don't have to move around much though."

A park didn't sound too fun if you couldn't move around. Unless we could get some of our friends to tag along.

Link turned to look at me. "There's something I don't get."

"Huh?"

"Why can't Mew and the others tell you about your past? How can it hurt you to know a little bit about your old life?"

I hesitated, thinking. "I mean, it kind of makes sense."

"What? Don't you want to know about your past?"

"Of course! It drives me crazy, not knowing anything about the Pokemon that came here to help me. But… think of it this way. Mewtwo said that if I have partial ideas of my past, it could interfere with my true memories returning properly. There's no way that my friends could tell me everything about my life. They could tell me everything they know, and it could be accurate. But there will be holes. A lot of holes. And the more I know, the more I'll try to fill in those holes. And I might fill them in with stuff that's not true. Like if you were building a puzzle. If you put the wrong piece somewhere, you can't fit the right piece in place over it."

Link was silent for a while, and then he nodded. "Okay. I guess that makes sense. Hey, Why don't we practice something," he suggested abruptly.

"Hm?"

Link reached into his bag and pulled out the boomerang.

"You still have that thing?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah! It's cool! And you never did learn to throw it properly."

"Uh, yeah. I guess that's true."

"How do you throw it?" We turned around to see Ponyta behind us. She was eyeing the boomerang. "I've never thrown one before."

"Uh, is that right?" Link asked, staring at Ponyta's hooves, clearly wondering how she could ever hope to throw a boomerang.

"Link was going to teach me, if you want to come," I offered, since that was clearly what she was hoping for.

Ponyta pretended to consider before saying "all right." And she followed us to the outskirts of town where there was enough open space to avoid damaging anything or anyone.

Link gave it an experimental toss. The boomerang curved through the air, returning to land about ten feet away from us.

"Aren't you supposed to catch it?" Ponyta asked.

"I'm not an expert," Link said defensively, going to retrieve the boomerang. He passed it to me. "Here. You try again."

I did, flinching as the scratches on my back twinged. And the boomerang dive-bombed spectacularly, barely curving and landing about 30 feet away. I grinned sheepishly and went to retrieve it.

"Flick your wrist more!" Link called after me.

"I did!" I called back, picking up the boomerang and throwing it back towards Link and Ponyta. The two dove to the side to avoid the twirling projectile.

"I think you need to throw it less like a Frisbee, and more like a ball."

"What? But you said I had to flick my wrist!"

"Yeah, flick your wrist. But swing your arm up, not out." He tried to demonstrate by pitching his arm over his shoulder. "And you want to angle it properly with the wind."

"Uh… okay?"

"I know I'm not a good teacher!" Link exclaimed, frustrated with his own inability to explain. He picked up the boomerang. "I just know how to do it! I don't know how to explain it."

"Let me see," Ponyta said. Link held the boomerang up in front of her. Ponyta eyed it and then nodded.

"What?" Link and I asked together.

"It's a boomerang," she noted.

Silence.

"Yes."

"I don't suppose someone could throw it with their mouth?" she asked.

"I've never heard of it," Link said.

"Though I wouldn't say that it can't be done," I added. "There's plenty of unbelievable things out there."

"It sounds like a pain to learn," Ponyta said dismissively.

"It is," I agreed. She probably didn't feel very interested in learning the boomerang in the first place. But I'd noticed she had latched onto Link and I since she'd arrived at Charm Town. While still snooty, I was glad that she wasn't really bratty anymore.

"It wouldn't be hard if you had a good teacher," Link assured me.

"If you thought about it for a while, you could probably explain it," I suggested.

"Who is that?" Ponyta asked.

Link and I turned to peer over the grass, but we didn't have a good view of the road. We waded out of the field towards the path and saw a little gray lump weaving weakly towards Charm Town. The unsteady, limping gait worried me.

The moment it caught sight of us, it tried to duck into the bushes.

"Wait," Ponyta called, bounding forwards and cutting off the Pokémon's escape route.

"It's okay," I called, hurrying forwards to the little gray thing. It was a Poochyena, crouched low to the ground, its tail tucked up. At first I thought it was the Poochyena from Arcanine's house, but this one was much smaller and younger.

"Are you okay?" Link asked.

Poochyena glanced around at us, and apparently decided that we weren't there to attack him. He shook his head and sat heavily on the ground, trembling. "My family was attacked. Me and my brother and sisters escaped. Mom and Dad told us to get to town. But they chased us and we got separated."

He sank to his stomach, heaving a deep sigh. "One of the Pokémon attacked me… and I'm so tired. But I need to get to town… so I can find my family."

"You think your brother and sisters got away?" I asked.

He nodded. "I don't know about Mom and Dad though." He looked up at us imploringly. "What if they turned into monsters too!?" He dropped his head, gritting his teeth.

"If they have, we'll make sure to get them back," Link promised. "You can usually wake them up. And we'll find your siblings too."

"I'll carry you into town," Ponyta said firmly. "It's right around the corner."

Poochyena looked up hopefully. "Really? We're almost there?"

Ponyta nodded. "Almost there," she repeated. She knelt onto her front knees and glanced at Link and I. She took in the claws on my hind legs before saying to Link, "You can lift Poochyena up and hold him there until we get into town."

Guess I can't blame her for not wanting my claws digging into her back.

And now I understood why Ponyta was hanging around us. We were the first rescue team she'd encountered. Not only that, but we escorted her home and battled crazy wild Rampardos. So now she wanted to be in a rescue team too. Well, she certainly liked giving orders.

Link hefted the Poochyena onto Ponyta's shoulders and hopped up behind him. He wrapped one arm wrapped around the little guy's shoulders to steady him.

"We should take him to Lucario and Lopunny," I suggested as Ponyta began to move forwards. "They can organize a rescue mission for the rest of his family."

"Really?" Poochyena asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Link assured him. "We'll make sure someone gets on it right away."

We entered the town. Were any other rescue teams on active duty in the town? Our break might be cut short. I might have to call Mew back.

While I would have willingly gone to search for the little Poochyena's family, my back hurt when I moved, and Mew could only limp in her standard Mudkip disguise. Even in that state, she could probably still take out most enemies, but she might be doing something important to help Manectric. I didn't want to distract her if they were almost done with the machine that could slow Mewthree down. We really weren't in much shape to go on a mission.

I looked across the square, at the Kecleon shop. The Kecleon brothers were still recovering, so the shop was temporarily closed. But two familiar figures were standing outside, sighing at the closed-sign that was posted on the door. The sight of them made my heart lift.

"I'll meet you over at the office," I called, jogging towards Poochyena and Zigzagoon – the only other active rescue team in the area.

…

After the little Poochyena told Lucario, Zigzagoon, and Poochyena where he'd lost his family, we escorted him to Chansey's so he could get his injuries treated. Chansey went off to set up a hot bath for him.

"Thanks for helping me," he said. He glanced off in the direction that Poochyena and Zigzagoon had gone.

"They'll be back soon," I promised.

"And I'm sure they'll figure out what happened to your family," Link added confidently.

"What if they can't find them?" he asked hopelessly.

"Look," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Even if for some reason they can't find your parents, it won't be long until they're back. Soon enough, we're going to fight Mewthree and break his hold on this land. And when we do, everyone he possessed will be freed. And everyone that was lost will come home."

Chansey called Poochyena in to clean him up, and we bid him farewell.

"The attack happened fairly close to town," Link muttered as we left the clinic. "It's a bad sign. Near town is supposed to be the safest place, which is why some Pokémon still live in the woods nearby. But if even that's not safe anymore…"

I nodded.

More and more, Charm Town was becoming an island among the encroaching darkness of Mewthree's shadow.

So it was no surprise when our break ended four days later with another urgent call from Lucario. At least it had lasted over half a week.

Link, Mew (arm mostly healed) and I rushed in to find Honchkrow sprawled on the floor of Lucario's office. I flinched to see him, half covered in mud, feathers fluffed out and bedraggled, breath rasping painfully in his lungs.

"Are you okay?" Link exclaimed.

"Tell them what you told me," Lucario said urgently.

Honchkrow looked up at him. "What? But they're just kids!" Right. Honchkrow didn't know anything about us. To him, we were just a novice rescue team. He'd obviously been through some ordeal, and he hadn't expected us to be the ones entrusted with his information.

Although, looking at him, I didn't see any blood. And he wasn't holding his wings or legs oddly, so he probably didn't have any major broken bones. Hopefully it was just exhaustion he was suffering from.

"We don't have time!" Lucario said. "Please, tell them!"

Honchkrow tried and failed to sit up, but at least managed to tuck his legs beneath him.

"I was up at Mount Labyrinth, checking on Jolteon and Infernape. And then…" he paused for a moment, breathing heavily. "They came! Weavile, Mightyena, and Drapion!"

"Your rescue team!" Link exclaimed.

I remembered what they'd told me about his team. Tyranitar had bee part of their rescue team too, before he'd taken over the gym. But soon after Mewthree's arrival, Honchkrow and his three remaining team members had gone up to the mountains on a scouting mission. They were attacked, and only Honchkrow escaped.

"They were possessed," I whispered.

Honchkrow nodded. "They'd tracked Jolteon and Infernape down. And they sent me to get help, both for them and my team. I… I don't know what happened to them. I barely escaped. There were some other flying Pokémon that got me as I was trying to get out. Jolteon and Infernape are tough… some of the best… but… things are getting crazy up there. Whatever conclusion this is going to lead to… is coming up… fast." He broke off in a wheezing cough.

Lucario stood up determinedly. "Lopunny, get Honchkrow to Chansey. You three," he pointed to us. "Are you ready?"

We nodded.

"We already may be to late." Lucario said, grabbing worn leather bag from a nearby chair. "The flight from Mount Labyrinth is a long one, and plenty can happen in that time. But still, if we can help them, we should. I'm going with you. Go ahead and teleport from here."

I glimpsed Honchkrow's confused expression at this statement before he and Lopunny vanished, along with the office.


	28. Memories and Betrayal

Finished the last of my school stuff, so I can finally get back to writing. Man, those last few weeks were evil.

Been looking forwards to this chapter for a while! It's super long because I'm late once again, and I promised to tell you who the traitor was.

Memories and Betrayal

The towering mass of Mount Labyrinth slammed into place above us as Mewtwo's teleport landed us at our destination.

We were at the part of the trail where we had first met Jolteon and Infernape.

"Where do we need to go?" Link asked.

Lucario glanced around. "Honchkrow said that he last saw them at the base of Scyther Spire."

"Where is that?" Mew asked.

"You can't see it from here," Lucario said. "It's farther to the north, and behind most of these shorter mountains." The fact that the mountains in front of us were "short" was a rather daunting concept.

"Hang on," Mew advised.

Before I realized what she meant, she had teleported us to a platform of rock at the top of one of the mountains that we'd been standing beneath a moment ago.

"Please warn us before you teleport," Link muttered. "I get queasy if you do it too often."

"Okay."

"That's Scyther Spire," Lucario said, pointing. The tip of a sharp, thin blade of rock reaching up beyond some of the more distant drops in the mountains. We teleported once more so that we were looking down at our destination. It was impossible to miss – a towering jagged blade of rock rising up out of the mountains. It really did look like a Scyther's blade reaching up from the rock.

"It looks like it could break and fall over," Link muttered, shivering.

"Wouldn't that be something to see," I said softly.

"We're teleporting," Mew announced.

"What?" Link said.

And before he got a chance to prepare, we'd warped once more.

"Bleh," Link groaned, staggering sideways as we landed.

"You okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "I just need to breathe a bit."

"You've been fine when we teleported before."

"Because that was only once, not a bunch of times in a row."

I looked up and found that we were directly at the base of the Spire. I gulped. It really did look like it would shatter and crash down on top of us. I hoped that it was sturdier than it looked.

Lucario was pacing around the spire, searching for marks in the thin dust that covered the rock. Mew was doing the same.

"I see Waevile footprints," Lucario announced.

"And these I think were made by a Mightyena," Mew responded.

"I wonder how old they are," Lucario murmured. "It must have been at least an hour, if not more, since Honchkrow saw them."

"That's strange," Mew muttered, lifting her Mudkip nose to the air and tilting her fan-like antenna. "Drapion have a pretty distinct scent, because of their poison. And it still smells pretty fresh."

Link also raised his nose and inhaled. But he shrugged. "I don't know what Drapion smell like," he admitted.

"Me either," I agreed.

Lucario continued to track Weavile, and Mew turned in a circle, trying to find the source of the scent. I bent over to look at the tracks. But to me, they looked nothing more than smudged circles and curving scratches.

"It's amazing how they can read the tracks," I told Link. He nodded, duly impressed. Mew was slowly making her way to a wide but short tunnel against the mountain beside us. I absently began to follow her, Link at my side.

"I don't get it," Mew muttered. She was far enough away that I could barely make out what she was saying. "It was an hour ago. It seems like they should have retreated into the mountains, not hung out here. But that scent is so close…"

She stepped cautiously towards the cave entrance, but then paused. She turned away, sniffing the air.

"I smell Honchkrow."

"Well, he was here, right?" Link asked, watching as she moved back away from the cave.

She paused, turning and trying to catch the scent.

"Do you smell Jolteon or Infernape?" I asked.

Mew shook her head. "Not at all."

Link and I exchanged glances. "That's strange. Honchkrow said that they were fighting Drapion, Weavile, and Mightyena."

"It's hard to tell from down here," Mew said, "but I think that Honchkrow may have perched nearby. The scent is faint, mostly blown away. But one of the ledges of rock above us, maybe."

"What about Drapion?" Link asked.

"Right," Mew said, turning back to the cave. She started moving towards it again.

I hesitated. "I hope we don't have to go in there." If there was going to be a fight, that cave would make it hard. They could easily ambush us, and Lucario wouldn't be able to jump without hitting the ceiling. Drapion could probably move around fairly well if he crouched flat.

Mew began to walk into the cave, slowly and cautiously, not wanting to get taken by surprise again. I followed her, Link at my side. Lucario left the footprints and continued after us.

We moved deeper into the cave, and Link and I lit the way as the light dimmed. My tail flames made the shadows around us flicker ominously. Then the tunnel curved, and all light from the entrance disappeared.

We came to a fork in the tunnel and Mew paused to see which tunnel had the strongest scent. Lucario crouched, examining the footprints in the dust. I held up my tail, but it illuminated very little of the two paths before us. And the shadows flickered worse than ever.

Or was it really my fire that was making the shadows flicker? I gulped. My mind must be playing tricks on itself. Fire made shadows do strange things. Like make the rocks look like they were moving.

"Move!" Mew shouted, springing backwards as the side of one of the tunnels heaved up and launched towards us.

Lucario bounded out of the way of the hulking mass and I dove to the side of the tunnel.

It was Drapion. Mew and Lucario turned, ready to attack. But just as Lucario was charging up an Aura Sphere, a second, smaller dark shape leapt from the tunnel and slammed into Lucario's chest, knocking him to the ground. As Drapion stabbed at Mew, I started forwards to attack Mightyena.

But then a blur shot through the air and slammed into me. I tumbled to the ground, losing all sense of direction. I rolled to my feet, but something struck the back of my head, sending me sprawling to my belly. There was a thump as Link fell beside me.

Again, I tried to get to my feet, this time lashing my tail out to deflect whatever was hitting us. It didn't work. Something struck my shoulder and I staggered forwards. But this time I managed to keep my feet.

I squinted through the dark cave, taking brief note of Mew and Lucario battling deeper in the cave. And then something bright shot past. I sent out Ember, but missed. The thing, whatever it was, was too fast. It bounded in, knocking Link over once more.

I quickly backed against the tunnel wall and motioned for Link to do the same. He scrambled to join me. We glanced around and I thought feverishly of some way to slow this opponent down. If Link could hit it with Thunder Wave, that would give us a chance. But how could we hit it? How do you fight a foe that moves too fast to see?

I shot a sideways glance at Link, and my eyes fell on his tail, which was swishing anxiously.

"Link!" I hissed. "I have an idea! Follow my lead!" I started to say something to him telepathically. But before I could finish, the blur reappeared and I caught a glimpse of pink. Then the thing leapt into the air, rebounded off of the ceiling, and came down directly on top of us. I caught a momentary glance of crazed, black eyes as Weavile shot towards us. Link and I jumped apart, but I felt claws sting my back.

I staggered around in time to see Link get hit once more. He crashed to the ground in the middle of the cave, and didn't move.

I took an unsteady breath and stepped out towards him.

Weavile streaked past, and I lashed out with my claws, missing yet again.

Back she dashed, and I shot out Ember. When I missed again, I opened my mouth in frustration and unleashed Flamethrower, filling half of the cave with burning flames. But Weavile slipped to the side of the cave and circled around me again. I unleashed Flamethrower again, and Weavile looped around once more, towards Link. And she brushed against Link's outstretched tail.

Electricity illuminated the cave as Link's Thunder Wave hit Weavile.

She hissed and backed away as static flickered across her body.

Link smirked and got to his feet. I gave him the thumbs up. And during the momentary distraction, Weavile sent out Icy Wind. Link dodged, but it hit me full on, coating most of my body in a thick layer of ice that froze my feet to the ground and locked my arms in place. Link quickly dashed around me, using Agility. Weavile bared her fangs and went after him.

For a moment I stood there, cold and unable to move. The cold seeped into my body, combining with the aches and fatigue from Weavile's attacks. The combination spread into a deep weariness that filled me and made me want to close my eyes and relax into the form of the ice. I wanted to remain there forever where I wouldn't have to fight anymore. I could almost feel it calling out to me, whispering in my mind. _Let go. Rest. _The calling grew, pressing on my mind, coaxing me to let go. To sleep.

My vision began to dim. I felt myself relaxing into the grip of the ice. It did feel nice. To let go of emotion and thought. To not have part in all the battles.

Then something else touched my mind. Something bright, familiar, and powerful. Something that cleared away the fuzziness that was growing through my mind.

I jolted back to awareness and shook my head to clear the strange sluggishness. I realized with shock what had nearly happened to me. I narrowed my eyes, grit my teeth, and growled quietly, "Sorry, Mewthree. You'll have to try harder to possess me."

I worked my elbows to get movement back into them, and brought my tail around to try to thaw my feet, which were still frozen to the ground.

Link unleashed a Thunderbolt, and I wondered how much of his battle I had missed when I zoned out. It must have been close to a minute, because Link looked exhausted. Even Paralyzed, Weavile was a powerful opponent.

This was taking too long! I had to get out there to help Link!

A deep rumble sounded low in my throat, and I started to open my mouth.

Then warmth began to spread through me. It spread to my fingers, toes, and tail, dispelling the cold. And when I recognized the sensation, my jaws opened wide I a grin.

The ice around my feet cracked and shattered as the claws on my toes lengthened into sharp talons. Something prickled against my shoulders, and then sprung outwards, unfolding into massive wings. I didn't even wait for the sensation to fade, but opened my jaws wide and let out a flow of bright fire between my teeth. The startled Weavile was, this time, unable to dodge and was engulfed by the inferno.

When the flames cleared, Weavile was down.

Link and I stood panting until Link turned and stared up at me.

"Maaan, I feel really small now."

I blinked at him, and then started to laugh.

A crash made us turn to look deeper into the cave. Drapion had just fallen to the ground, defeated by Lucario and Mew. Mew had resumed her original form.

Link and I went to join them. And as I approached, Mew and Lucario stared at me. Mew grinned and Lucario placed a paw on my arm, nodding in approval.

"Do you think they'll return to their senses when they wake up?" I asked, looking down at the unconscious Pokémon.

"Let's hope so," Lucario replied. "Let's get them outside to start with."

Mew used her psychic powers to move Drapion out of the tunnel. I lifted Mightyena, and Lucario carried Weavile. I winced as I scraped my head against the low ceiling. We deposited the three Pokémon at the base of the Spire and collapsed on the ground to rest.

I stared up at the mountains around us, debating about whether or not I should say what happened. Then I took a deep breath and said, "I heard Mewthree."

The others turned to me, shocked.

I nodded, failing to suppress a shudder. "When Weavile's Icy Wind hit me, I think it almost knocked me out. And then I felt something calling to me. Telling me to let go. It was… really powerful. I think…" I took another deep breath. "It almost got me."

"You fought Mewthree off?" Lucario asked.

"I don't think I could have by myself. Someone helped me. Another mind woke me up."

"Another mind?" Link repeated.

"Do you know who it was?" Mew asked, concerned.

I nodded and slowly smiled. "Yep. I did recognize it."

"You mean-" but she broke of and spun around, taking a battle stance.

Two figures appeared on a ledge above us. Mew relaxed. It was Jolteon and Infernape."

"You are here!" Jolteon exclaimed. "I thought I smelled you."

Infernape lifted her and climbed down the cliff to join us.

I went up to greet her, but the expression on her face stopped me.

"We have to get out of here!" Jolteon said, breathlessly.

Infernape nodded, looking alarmed. "The possessed Pokémon – there's a bunch of them coming this way! Through the caves!"

"Coming here?" Lucario repeated, getting to his feet.

Jolteon nodded.

We all turned as an ominous thumping and clattering echoed softly from deep inside the nearby tunnel.

"Why would they be coming here?" Link asked. "Why now?"

Lucario grit his teeth. "I'm doubting it's a coincidence. Something tells me that these three," he gestured to Weavile and her companions," were nothing more than a lure.

"They wanted to finish you off up in the mountains?" Jolteon asked Lucario.

"That wouldn't surprise me," Lucario growled. "Fortunately the enemy doesn't know that we have Mew on our side. And they didn't know we could teleport here, or these new Pokémon might have fallen on us already, during the middle of our battle."

"Can you teleport us out of here?" Lucario asked.

Mew hesitated. "I don't think I can do nine at once. I'd have to make a couple trips."

"Wait, you guys," I said. But Lucario continued talking.

"We can make a stand here if you teleport those three back to Charm Town. And then you can come back for us."

"Are you sure that would be smart?" Link asked. "What if they're still possessed? They'd be loose in the town!"

"Guys," I repeated, louder this time. They finally turned to look at me. "I never told you who it was that helped me escape Mewthree's influence."

Jolteon and Infernape looked startled, but Lucario looked annoyed. "Cara, this is no time to be discussing this. We need to get out of here!"

"I know but…"

"Do you know how many are coming?" Lucario asked Jolteon.

She hesitated. "We saw at least half a dozen coming from that direction. They should be here any second."

Then from below us, there was a flapping sound and a Salamence circled up into view from a nearby crevasse. A Rhydon and Rhyperior appeared on the ledge that Jolteon and Infernape had arrived from. A pair of Graveler appeared from around the curve of the tunnel. The escalating clamor around us made it clear that many more were on the way. The others turned, forming a semi-circle around the unconscious dark-type Pokémon. But I didn't move. I grit my teeth, stomped a foot on the ground, and flared my wings. Then I threw back by head and bellowed,

"MEWTWOOO!"

The volume of the call startled me more than anyone else, and I stood startled by the silence that followed. The others stared at me.

I swallowed and glanced around at the Pokémon lined up on the ledge above us. I backed up to join the line my friends had formed.

A couple Golem curled up and hurled themselves off of the rocks above us. It seemed to be the signal for the other Pokémon to move. I felt like I watched in slow-motion as at least twenty Pokémon came at us from several directions. The wind kicked up, whipping dust around my ankles.

And then I felt a shiver, and a swooping sensation in my stomach. For a moment I thought that it was fear. But that wasn't right. It was more like… excitement? Anticipation? But why? How could it _not_ be fear?

The wind kicked up, and I noticed that it seemed to be encircling us, and enclosing us. And then with a raging gust, a whirlwind of dust and air flared up around us. The others let out startled exclamations, but I stared around, almost in wonder. Something like blue flames seemed to be flickering throughout the tornado that surrounded us. And I wondered why I felt so… safe.

Then, without warning, the tornado burst outward, catching the enemy Pokémon with incredible force and flinging them away until all of them disappeared beyond rock and cliff.

"Was that… you?" Link asked, staring at me.

I stared back at him, shocked. "What? No! Of course not!"

"That power," Mew said, slowly smiling. "I recognize that."

I glanced around as the others looked bewildered. Then my eyes turned up towards the spire and I backed away, trying to see what was at the top. Then a dot appeared, floating through the air, circling around the Spire as it flew down towards us.

Mew saw it too, and she heaved a sigh. "So, he's back. It took him longer than I thought, but he's back."

"Who?" Jolteon and Infernape asked together.

"Mewtwo," I whispered.

"Mewtwo!" Jolteon exclaimed.

"He's with us," Link quickly explained.

Everyone looked up as Mewtwo drifted down to land, his cloak billowing out around him.

"I believe the appropriate phrase," Mew said, "Is 'you're a sight for sore eyes!' You have good timing."

Mewtwo gave a half smile and glanced around at each of us. When his gaze locked on me, it was a few seconds before I saw the spark of recognition.

"I see you've evolved," he said.

I nodded.

"Did you find her memories?" Link blurted out.

Mewtwo turned his gaze to Link and nodded. An unexpected pit formed in my stomach. Longing. But I was also a bit worried. What would my memories bring with them?

"W-when can you return them?" I asked, suddenly breathless.

"Right now, if you'd like," Mewtwo responded.

"I-is it safe enough here?" I asked, automatically stepping towards him.

"I can put up a shield. It should be able to stop anything from getting in while I'm concentrating. Though I think it will be a while before we have more trouble."

Trembling, I nodded.

Mewtwo raised his arms, and a blue dome, twenty feet across, flickered to life above us.

"Please stay back," Mewtwo said. The others crowded back against Drapion, Weavile, and Mightyena.

"Cara, I need you to kneel so I can reach your head." He removed his hat and unclipped his cloak, setting both of them aside. I dropped to a crouch, moving awkwardly in my new body. I finally figured out how to lower myself to hands and knees while keeping my big, awkward wings tucked at my back. I was shaking visibly.

Mewtwo stepped forwards until he was directly in front of me.

"Close your eyes. Relax your mind as much as possible. I'll help you, but it won't work if you fight me."

I nodded, taking a deep breath to try to calm my nerves.

It was happening. It was finally happening. I was getting my memories back. I tried to clear my mind, but it was almost impossible. I jumped slightly as Mewtwo rested his hand on my forehead. And then I felt his mind reach out to touch mine. I could almost feel the blue fire of his psychic powers settling my nerves and helping me relax. My breathing steadied and my body stopped shaking.

And then it began. A steady flow, like a cool stream pouring into my mind. At first, I didn't notice anything different. And then very slowly, things began to click into place. But even above the swirling flow of returning memories was a sense of deep remorse. How could I have ever forgotten? Everyone I met, everywhere I'd been, everything I'd done. How could I ever have forgotten any of it? Any of them?

I have no idea how long it lasted. It felt like an eternity. But at long last, the flow of memories settled and Mewtwo's fire drew away. It took me a few seconds to realize that Mewtwo had removed his hand from my forehead. I slowly opened my eyes and realized that tears were falling down my cheeks.

I gasped out a laugh, looking down at my clawed hands with renewed amazement. Then I looked up at Mewtwo and choked, "Ben is going to be so mad at me!"

Mewtwo gave a small "heh." I slowly pushed myself to my feet, nearly falling over in my huge body. Then I turned around and looked at the Pokémon behind me. I took a couple steps towards them and fixed my eyes on Mew. She floated towards me and I caught her up in a hug, half laughing, half crying. "Thank you. Thank you all for coming for me." I turned back to Mewtwo and went to his side. Although I knew he wouldn't approve, I was bigger than him this time, and he would have a hard time resisting without using his powers. And I pulled him into a brief hug. When I let go, he stepped back, looking a bit startled.

"Thank you, Mewtwo. Thank you again, for everything. I know now. I remember that you'll always be there for us."

He gave another small laugh, putting his half-smile back on. "You're always getting involved in some sort of trouble. Besides, I know you'd do the same for me."

"Oh, jeez!" I exclaimed. "I need to see the others! Suicune, Raikou, and Entei! Garnet, Phantom, Deoxys, and Celebi!" And then I turned back to Link. "Oh, man, Link. The stories I could tell you now…"

He smiled, and I noticed that there was a hint of sadness to your expression. "Yeah! You remember everything now! That's great. And you can go home now too."

I stopped. Yes. Yes, we could go home. I had my memories, and now Palkia could take us away, wherever he was. Was he nearby, waiting for us? But then my eyes traveled over Lucario, Jolteon, and Infernape, finally resting on Link. How could I leave them? How could I possibly leave them all to Mewthree, even if it meant getting back to Avalon?

I turned desperately to Mewtwo. "Can… can we…"

"Stay and help fight Mewthree?" Mew chipped in.

I nodded.

Mewtwo opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. He shut his mouth, and then opened it again, saying, "why don't you tell me what's been happening?"

"Can you read my mind?" I asked. "That would be a lot faster."

Mewtwo nodded, and I crouched again so that he could read my more recent memories. Mewtwo still looked uncertain, but he said, "Why don't we check in with the other Legendary Pokémon first?"

I could tell that he was undecided. He wanted to get home. And after several weeks of traveling between worlds, searching for m memories, who could blame him? He must be exhausted and eager to return to his home and family. Did I have any right to keep him from that? To help Pokémon that didn't even live on our own planet?

"Yeah, let's all rest first," I agreed. "Then we can all talk about it when we have more energy."

Mewtwo nodded, hiding his relief that I understood his meaning.

"Mewtwo," Mew said. He turned to look at her. "Would you be able to check to see if these three are under Mewthree's influence still?"

Mewtwo nodded, and I suddenly saw how weary he was. He went over to Drapion, Weavile, and Mightyena.

"How did you escape?" Lucario asked, turning to Jolteon and Infernape.

"What?" Jolteon asked.

"From these guys," Lucario said, gesturing to Honchkrow's rescue team.

"What do you mean, 'escape,'" Infernape, asked looking confused.

Lucario cocked his head. "Honchkrow told us that the three of you ran into the rest of his team and fought them. He said you told him to fly off and get help."

Jolteon and Infernape stared at him blankly.

"This is the first time we've seen Honchkrow's team since they disappeared," Jolteon said.

Lucario opened his mouth, but looked too confused to respond.

There was a groan and everyone turned to see Weavile sitting up. I was immediately on guard in case Weavile was still possessed. But when she opened her eyes, I saw that they were normal once more.

Mew quickly turned back into Mudkip before Weavile could see her.

She stared blearily around.

"Lucario," she muttered and tried to get to her feet.

He dropped to her side. "Don't' move. You need to rest. How do you feel?"

Weavile's eyes were unfocused and she seemed to have trouble forming words. "What… what happen'?"

"You were possessed by Mewthree. You, Drapion, and Mightyena. Do you remember anything?"

Weavile placed her hands against her head, squinting her eyes shut. Everyone waited for her to reply. Finally she looked up.

"I-I think so." She continued on, very slowly. "It was almost like a dream. Everything's fuzzy and disjointed. I feel like I was watching from a great distance, with no control over my actions. Not much happened, I don't think. After Honchkrow escaped, that's when everything went fuzzy. And as far as I know, we mainly patrolled the mountains. And I think we knocked out several Pokémon so that Mewthree could possess them. And then we were fighting you."

There was movement as Mightyena moaned and placing a paw against her head. Drapion stirred as well.

"Thank goodness Honchkrow told us where to find you," Lucario said, sounding immensely relieved.

"Honchkrow," Weavile said, a raspy growl in her voice. "Did you catch him?"

"Catch…?" Lucario repeated, unsure what she was talking about.

"That bloody traitor," Weavile hissed, trying once again to get to her feet. "He attacked us in the mountains. Outright turned on us. Joined a bunch of possessed Pokémon that ambushed us. That's why we passed out and were possessed by Mewthree. Did you finally catch him?"

A pit of dread settled into my stomach and I saw the looks of horror on Link's and Lucario's faces.

"W-what did you say?" Lucario said breathlessly.

"Honchkrow betrayed us," Mightyena growled.

"You-you didn't know?" Weavile asked, concern creeping into her voice.

"But he's still at Charm Town!" Link exclaimed!

A series of violent shivers ran up my spine. "He lured us out of town for a reason!" I snarled. "Who knows how much time he's had there with Lucario out of the way!"

"We need to get back to town!" Lucario snarled savagely. "Mew!"

She floated forwards, preparing to teleport.

Another shiver ran up my back and I felt something cold. No, that wasn't right. It wasn't that cold out. Just a bit windy. The coldness was… in my mind."

I turned towards Mewtwo, who had backed away from Drapion. He staggered back a couple steps and doubled over, hands pressed against his skull.

"Are you okay?" I asked, quickly moving towards him.

The air around him seemed to shift, as though dark dust were collecting around him. And then I realized what it was.

"No!" I bellowed, charging forwards as the black bubble solidified around Mewtwo's body.

"NOOOO!"

I threw myself against the bubble, tearing at it with my claws and trying to sink my teeth into it. It didn't give at all. I couldn't so much as scratch the surface. I drew my head back and unleashed a blast of fire, trying to vaporize Mewtwo's prison. But when the smoke cleared, the bubble was still intact, with Mewtwo inside, panting and trying to get to his feet. In his exhausted state, the bubble was draining his remaining power even as it imprisoned him.

I renewed my fierce attack on the bubble even as my claws broke against the unyielding black surface and I tasted blood from my torn gums.

Then a black bolt shot into the bubble. Mewtwo's back arched, and his mouth opened in a shout that could not reach through the sphere. A moment later, a second black bolt lashed outwards and hit my chest. I crashed backwards, skidding on my back and crushing my wings beneath me. When I came to a halt fifteen feet away, I couldn't move. My body had gone limp, and my head rang.

There was a chuckle from above us, and I saw something from the corner of my eye. A shape perched on the ledge above us. I winced and managed to tilt my head a couple inches to get a better look. Even from this angle, I knew who it was almost immediately.

He couldn't have been more than a few inches taller than Mewtwo. But his body was an icy blue color and looked to be much more physically powerful than Mewtwo's – sturdy and muscular. His fingers were longer and seemed to end in claws. Two large talons, like those on Weavile's forearms, sprouted from each foot. His horns were long and sharp. Something like metal wrapped around from behind him, covering his back, sides, shoulders, and chest. It almost looked like it was part machinery.

The eerie similarities of the body shape, head, and tail made him look like some nightmarish version of Mewtwo.

I vaguely noticed that Link was standing at my side. He must have run there before Mewthree appeared.

More movement caught my eye and I noticed that the bubble containing Mewtwo was floating up to join Mewthree. There was a motionless heap at the bottom of the bubble. I tried to stand, but could barely do more than twitch my arms and feet.

"Truly fascinating," I heard Mewthree say as he peered into the bubble beside him. "So, this is what I was created from, is it?"

Then without another word, or so much as a backward glance, he turned and flew away, Mewtwo's bubble trailing after him.


	29. Aftermath

I did a story trade with two of my friends. One of them asked us to write this crazy complicated scene with a couple of her characters. They're both is upset, and one of them is having all these flashbacks, which eventually turn into hallucinations. And at the end everything breaks down and blends together until you can't tell what's real and what's not. I'm pretty much done. I just need to edit it. It turned out a lot better than I thought it would… at least. I've never written anything like it, so it was interesting to do.

Aftermath

_Aren't you ready to rest? You've been fighting so hard. _

The voice was back, soft and soothing.

_You've done so much. Why don't you let go. _

_Go to hell, _I spat.

The voice paused. When it came back, it much nearer and clearer.

_Ahh, that's you, isn't it? The Pokémon who foolishly sought to break my black prison. Mewtwo couldn't break free. What makes you think that you could do what he could not? _

_I hate you. What makes you think that you have the right to destroy this place? I will do whatever it takes to stop you. Every Pokémon here will stop you! No matter how powerful you think you are, you can't defeat all of us. _

Mewthree gave a small chuckle. _Of course. The same thing over and over again. Defeat, hate, destruction. That's all that exists in this world. _

_Maybe that's all that exists in _your_ world. You're the one that brought it here. _

_I'm not the one that began the destruction. You, however, are wasting my time. I have better things to do that waste my time on you. And you're wasting your time if you think you can stop me. _

…

_Blood. I taste blood. _

I opened my eyes and found myself staring up at the gray sky and the sharp point of Scyther Spire. I blinked, trying to get my bearings. I must have passed out after Mewthree took Mewtwo away. It was a wonder I stayed conscious enough for that. Even so, I felt like lead. Melting lead.

Words echoed in my head. _I know you'd do the same for me._ And yet I couldn't do anything for him. Not a thing.

"Cara?"

I tried to lift my head and groaned as I felt throbbing inside my skull. I managed to tilt my head around to see Link looking at me, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," I groaned.

I heard movement and glanced to the other side. Mew was there. But I didn't see any of the other Pokémon.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"I already teleported them back to Charm Town," Mew replied. "I came back last to pick you guys up. I healed you enough so you could wake up, but you'll need to go to Chansey's clinic once we get home." She paused and heaved a sigh. "I'm lucky I was disguised as a Mudkip, or Mewthree probably would have taken me too."

"Honchkrow!" I tried to sit up. Mew floated to my side and transformed into an Infernape. She slung my arm over her shoulder and helped me stand up. Even with her support, every movement made me wince. Link shuffled his feet, wanting to help but unable to considering he was so much smaller than me now.

Mew nodded. "Yes, Honchkrow. We need to get back and see if we can catch him. Are you up to it?"

"Yes. Take us there."

"All right. Hang on."

And with the familiar swooping sensation, the three of us landed in Charm Town.

Everything looked so normal.

"Lucario and the others went to Tyranitar's gym to check up on him," Mew informed us. "Let's go."

She let go of me and waited to see if I could stand by myself. I impatiently waved her away. "I'm fine. Let's go!"

I started forward a bit unsteadily, but continued on, my jaws clenched together and my fists clenched despite my aching fingers.

The door to the gym was open, but just as we were walking inside, Lucario came sprinting out, banging into my shoulder. He didn't stop or even look back, but dashed across the town square.

"Excuse you," I muttered irritably. My head was buzzing with a churning whorl of emotions, but anxiety, exhaustion, betrayal, and loss were all overshadowed by anger.

_Mewthree. I hate you._

I peered in through the door, but couldn't see anything beyond the screen that surrounded the arena. It wasn't until we came around the screen that I saw the reason for Lucario's haste.

Tyranitar was lying face-down on the arena floor, out cold. Jolteon was sitting next to him, checking him for wounds.

I whirled and charged back out through the door, Link and Mew following me.

Across the square, I could see Drapion and the rest of his team standing outside of Chansey's clinic.

Something else was wrong.

We rushed towards them to find that the door was open.

I didn't wait to hear what the others had to say, but went right in through the front door, wincing as my battered wings brushed against the doorframe.

Lucario and Infernape were already inside.

Latias was sprawled across the couch, her head hanging towards the floor. Chansey was on the ground across the room. Neither of them were moving. And Latios was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he," Link asked, alarmed.

I felt a draft and looked over to see that the back window was broken.

"I don't get it," Link continued. "How could he have taken out Tyranitar _and_ these guys?"

"It must have been easy," Lucario growled. Though his voice was quiet, the fury in his words was impossible to miss. "They must have invited him in happily. All he had to do was hit them at the right moment."

"I guess they wanted the Soul Dew," I suggested.

"That would be my guess," Lucario replied.

Mew turned back to her original shape and drifted over to Latios. She touched her with a glowing hand. Latios stirred slightly and one eye opened slightly.

"Are you okay?" Infernape asked.

Latios gave a small moan. Lucario lifted her up onto the couch properly. She flinched as she was moved.

"Latias," Lucario said seriously. "I know you're weak, but we need you to tell us what happened. Briefly is fine."

She nodded, swallowed, and then started to speak in a weak, quavering voice. "It was… Honchkrow. He attacked us. Before I passed out, I saw him drag Brother out the window." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Also… I think he had a folder with him. With papers in it."

Lucario cursed and leapt straight out through the open window. Mew followed, but I had to go back around through the door. Link followed me, and we saw Lucario's tail disappear into his office.

When walked into the entrance, we found Lucario kneeling next to an unconscious Lopunny.

"Please look after her," he called to us. He stood and ran into his office. We heard him opening drawers and shuffling through papers.

I turned Lopunny over onto her back and pushed a cushion under her head.

My head was still buzzing. How could this have happened? Right in the middle of town? In the middle of the day? Without anyone even noticing?

Honchkrow must have slipped inside, acting like he was on nothing more than a friendly visit. If he placed his attack right, he could probably have knocked out everyone before they had a chance to cry out. And when he snuck out the back of Chansey's clinic, he probably didn't have any trouble slipping through the back streets until he reached the forest.

I realized that my mouth was open slightly and smoke was rising up from between my teeth. Link was looking at me, concerned.

I swallowed and tried to relax.

Lucario reappeared in the doorway.

"What did he take?" Mew asked.

"The folder about Manectric's machine," Lucario replied flatly.

There was a stunned silence.

"He'll destroy it!" Link exclaimed.

Lucario shook his head. "I kept very little about that machine on paper. Honchkrow may have got the basic information about it, but he still doesn't know where it is or exactly how it works. But this also means that we've lost the element of surprise with the machine."

"Do you think we can catch up with him?" Link asked. "I mean, if he has Latios with him, he can't go to fast."

Lucario shook his head. "He couldn't carry Latios all the way to Mt. Labyrinth. There are undoubtedly other Pokémon helping him. We have no idea which way they went or how many of them there are. And we still need to figure out if Honchkrow did anything else while he was here."

"Are you sure he didn't take any other papers?" I asked.

"I'm not," Lucario admitted. "I need to figure that out. But as I do that, we need to rally the villagers. We need everyone to search the town and see if he did anything else. Or if anyone saw what he was doing. I'll be there in a minute. Can you start gathering everyone?"

Mew paused for a moment to revive Lopunny. Then the three of us headed outside to meet Weavile and her team. All of us were completely exhausted, and our nurse, Chansey, was still unconscious. But we had to gather the villagers.

All of us split apart to sound the call.

"Why don't you fly?" Link suggested. "It would be faster."

"I don't know how to fly," I admitted. "Maybe Mew can teach me."

Link stared at me in disbelief. "But whenever I've seen a Pokémon evolve into a flying type, they can always fly."

"That's probably because they're Pokémon. I'm not, remember?"

Link was silent.

"Besides," I continued, "I smashed up my wings pretty good when Mewthree zapped me. They're all achey and scraped."

"Well," Link said, "at least you can roar really loud, right? That will get people's attention."

"Good point."

…

Everyone finished searching Charm Town. The search revealed nothing new. Some of the Pokémon saw Honchkrow go into the dojo, or the clinic. But they hadn't noticied anything unusual, or heard any shouts for help. Nothing else seemed disturbed. Mew went to check on Manectric and the machine, but everything was okay with them.

And although Lucario was already exhausted from the fight, he still had to go through the rest of his office and make sure that nothing else was missing.

After the search was over, Link and I headed to the clinic, along with everyone else who had been injured. Several Pokémon from around town volunteered to help treat us. What with those that had been attacked by Honchkrow and those of us who fought in the mountains, the clinic was overcrowded. I and several others ended up on makeshift cots set up outside the clinic.

Mew, disguised once again, only took a couple sitrus berries. But Link and I needed much more treatment. Togekiss and Kirlia bandaged my wings and applied ointment to all of my scrapes and bruises. Link's treatment was much faster than mine since he was smaller and hadn't been zapped by Mewthree. Link came to join me when he was bandaged.

Although fatigue had set in long ago, I had no desire to lie down. No, I had the desire to bite something. To throw myself on my opponent and demolish everything with my flames.

Link looked nervous, concerned by the expression on my face. Finally I stood up. As I was about to walk away, Mew approached us and gestured for me to take a seat again.

"I don't want to sit still," I growled.

Mew stared at me for a moment. "Please sit. I need to tell you something."

I reluctantly obeyed. Mew glanced around to make sure that there was no one else within earshot.

"Cara, I understand that you're angry. And who can blame you? Anyone who'd been through what we have would be upset. Everybody is angry about Honchkrow. And we also have Mewtwo to worry about."

A low growl sounded in the bottom of my throat.

Mew continued. "The Cara I know did have a bit of a temper, but _look_ at yourself."

My first thought was to demand how I was supposed to look at myself. But I bit back that retort when I saw Link. He glanced away from me, but not before I saw the concern on his face. Concern and… fear? Really? He was afraid of me?"

"Charizard have fiery tempers," Mew continued. "You should know. You have your memories back, and you've had a lot of experience with Charizard. You're not used to this new body yet. You need to return to yourself. Not some fire-crazed dragon intent on revenge, but the girl who used clever strategy and _her connection to Pokémon_ to defeat those who were stronger than herself.

My thoughts flicked to the battles at the Pokémon League, and against Lance. My unconventional methods were what got me as far as I did. And for the battle against Giovanni, it was only my ability to communicate with Pokémon that let us defeat him.

And sure, I got angry plenty of times. And I overreact to things, even to stuff that is unimportant. But no matter how angry I was, it was only when I let myself cool down and get things together that I could rise above the danger.

I stood up again. Link and Mew started.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm going to go for a walk. I need to cool my head. I'm afraid I'll snap if I don't. I'll meet you at Arcanine's house."

I started to limp away from the clinic.

"Cara," Mew said. I turned to look back at them. "When your wings are better, I'll teach you how to fly."

Link gave a reassuring smile. I managed to return a weak smile. "That sounds fun."

"Thanks guys," I said before turning and walking away.

I waked out of town and down the cliff trail to the beach. It would be dark soon. The sun was already starting to set. It had been a very long and trying day.

I sat down on the sand. Now that I had my human memories back, this new body felt awkward all over again. Especially with huge wings sticking out of my shoulders.

I arranged myself as best I could, and closed my eyes. I breathed in and out slowly and deeply. I was never great at meditating. No matter how often I tried to clear my thoughts, they inevitably came back. But it was still a good way to relax.

I could almost feel the sun disappear behind the ocean as the warmth slipped away. I should get back to town soon.

I stood up, feeling like I had a decent grip on my emotions.

My tail flames cast flickering shadows in the sand and on the cliff. As I turned to head back up the trail, the shadows heaved up as a large dark shape moved beside me.

My heart rushing, I turned and opened my mouth to attack, but then a familiar figure appeared.

"Phantom," I gasped, choking back the flames that I'd almost doused him with.

"Sorry," the Darkrai said, floating up beside me. "I didn't want to disturb you, but I didn't mean to startle you." He hesitated. "Mew told us what happened."

I looked away.

"I know you remember us now," Phantom said. "Team Rocket once used me to try to capture Mewtwo. We helped him escape then. And we'll do it again. We'll get Mewtwo out of there, and we'll get all of us home."

"Thanks, Phantom. For everything. For coming all the way here. I need to see everyone. Now that I know them again."

Phantom smiled. "Yes, they'd all like that. Would you like me to help you up the trail?"

I hesitated, but felt my knees buckle slightly even as I stood there.

"I guess you'd better," I admitted sheepishly.

He let me drape an arm around his shoulder, and he supported me all the way to the edge of town.

As he turned to leave, I stopped him. "Tomorrow I want everyone either to be staying at Manectric's cave, or here in town. We can find places for them to stay. The final battle is coming, and secrecy is pointless now."

Phantom looked at me for a minute before nodding. He understood my concern about keeping everyone safe. He drifted away and melted into the shadows.

I returned to Arcanine's house and staggered up the stairs. Mew greeted me as I entered, but I don't even know if I responded. I was so exhausted that I passed out the moment I sprawled my huge body over the small bed.

…

"_You're always protecting me." _

"_You'd do the same for me."_

_The words echoed through my head, over and over. _

"_Cara." _

_The voice was weak and distant. As though it could barely keep itself from fraying apart in the darkness of the dream. _

"_Cara." _

_Try as it might, the voice could not come in any stronger. I quickly reached out to it before it disappeared. When I took hold of it, the voice became a bit clearer. _

"_Once long ago," he continued, sounding pained and weary, "Mew sent you a dream of my birth and my anger upon waking in the world. Now I must do the same for you, for this poor, broken creature." _

"_He's broken and twisted," I responded darkly. "A cracked bone that healed wrong." _

"_So was I." _

"_You didn't do anything this bad." _

"_Didn't I? I wanted my storm to destroy the world." _

"_But he stole you! And Latios! He's probably going to take Latios's soul - the Soul Dew. And he's taking away everyone's free will! Making them do horrible things!" _

"_I did that too. I stole Pokémon and took control of a person's mind." _

"_Yeah! Only one person! Not hundreds of them!" _

"_I don't have the power that he does." _

_My thoughts blundered around, looking for a reply. _

"_I always thought that you didn't judge others," Mewtwo said, sighing warliy. "That you got to know them before you formed any opinion of them. Why are you so filled with hate right now? You weren't this bad with me. Even when I stole your Pokémon." _

_This sentence somehow left me stunned. Filled with hate? Was I still filled with hate? I thought I'd managed to calm myself down. As to judging Mewthree, hadn't I seen all I needed to know that he was evil? I tried to think of a reply. A reply that wasn't blurted out like everything else I'd said to Mewtwo so far. He'd reached out to me, past Mewthree's barriers, weak though he must be. And I was just arguing with him. _

"_I-I guess," I said slowly, "that I could understand your pain because of what Mew showed me. And stealing my Lapras, Jolteon, and Alakazam was the first thing you did to hurt me. With Mewthree, I've been seeing the suffering he caused since I arrived here." _

_I could almost sense Mewtwo nodding. "When I came to life, I was spoken down to, as though I was some fascinating thing they had found in the gutter and wanted to study. Shortly after, I was used by a person who pretended to be my equal, while secretly laughing at the control he thought he had over me. That was it." _

"_What do you mean, _that was it_?" _

"_Exactly what I said. If I told Mewthree about that, he would just laugh. What I went through is nothing more than a slap on the wrist compared to how he came into the world." _

_I shuddered as I realized what he was saying. "Is that why he's so much more powerful than you?" I asked. "Because they added more powers to him after his body was completed?" _

"_Yes. There is a small amount of machinery on his back and sides. That was implanted after he became conscious. And adding extra powers doesn't count for all the experimental tests he underwent. You say he is a cracked bone that healed wrong. That is an understatement. He is something that is shattered, which grew back together in a warped and twisted knot." _

_I felt something hollow in my chest and I swallowed. _

"_Ca-can he be helped?" _

_Mewtwo didn't reply. I wondered if Mewthree had noticed our telepathic conversation and cut it off. Just as I started to get worried, Mewtwo's voice came back. _

"_I do not know. A broken bone must be re-broken if it is to heal properly. But he is so broken that I don't know if he can ever heal. Could you bring yourself to love him? After all the hate you've been feeling towards him?" _

_I gave a small laugh. "Well, Pokémon are usually easier to love than humans." _

_Mewtwo seemed perplexed at this. _

"_I mean, there's plenty of humans that I love. But getting really attached to humans takes longer than it does with Pokémon. I guess?" _

"_I would not know. I am not human. Even so, in this case it would take more than you to help Mewthree. It seems to me that there are very few Pokémon here that do not hate Mewthree. That hate will only make Mewthree worse." _

_I remembered what Mewthree said when he tried to possess me for the second time. When I said that I hated him and that we would defeat him _Defeat, hate, destruction. That's all that exists in this world. _Now I knew how deep that resonated within him. It was all he'd even known. The only things he'd ever seen. _

"_Is there anything I can do?" _

_Mewtwo sighed. "Any attempts to help him would endanger you and anyone around you. I can't think of any way to reason with him. I-I had something I cared about. My clones. When someone protected my clones, I looked again and saw things differently. But for Mewthree, there's _nothing_ that he cares about. His heart was killed." _

_There was silence until Mewtwo began hesitantly, "Cara?" _

"_Yeah?" _

"_Listen. If it turns out that I can't be rescued from Mewthree-" _

_I cut him off, refusing to hear where this train of thought would lead. "We _will_ rescue you. Manectric's machine will be ready to go any time now. Maybe even within a day. We're all going to get up there and set you free. You and Latios." _

_Mewtwo seemed to be smiling slightly. But the tone of his voice when he responded was tired and not at all confident or convincing. "Okay." _


	30. One Day More

Although I've been uploading less often, at least there's some long chapters. XP

I've been listening to the soundtrack from Les Miserables over and over. Especially the song One Day More. That song is amazing, with all the overlapping voices and melodies. When I first played through the CD, I repeated that song several times. And just now they all performed it at the Oscars! I got so excited when they started singing it! I wish they'd won. TT^TT Although Skyfall was a pretty good song too.

One Day More takes place the day before the big revolution, and everyone is singing about what that day will bring. So now I steal that song name for this chapter, before the big battle against Mewthree.

One Day More

"You want to _WHAT?_" Link exclaimed in alarm.

"Why do you want to talk to Mewthree?" Mew asked, in a quieter voice than Link, but still sounding startled.

"Mewtwo spoke to me last night," I explained. "He told me what happened to Mewthree, and why he was behaving like this." I explained to Link how I had met Mewtwo, and what he had gone through. And then I told both him and Mew about my dream conversation with Mewtwo the night before.

"And you think you can talk some sense into him?" Link clearly didn't think it was possible.

"I-I don't know," I admitted. "But I think I have to at least try. I'm probably the only one here on Naratay who could talk to him without going to Mount Labyrinth. And I doubt anyone else would be willing to talk to him even if they could. Everyone hates him. Although they are certainly justified in it. And if I think of him like Mewtwo, well, I want to do whatever I can to help him."

"And what if it doesn't work?" Mew asked. "You said yourself that even Mewtwo thinks he's too far gone."

I hesitated. "I mean, if there's no other choice, then we have to bring him down. He's too dangerous if he can't be reasoned with."

"Do you think you can even reach him?" Mew asked.

"I think so. He's tried to possess me twice. I've felt his mind and can probably reach it again. Assuming he's willing to listen to me."

"What if he's able to possess you this time?" Link asked, obviously hating this idea.

I shook my head. "The first time he only failed because Mewtwo helped me. But the second time, I was able to sense what was going on, so I could throw him off myself. And this time I won't be unconscious. I think this, at least, I can handle. Plus he considers me to be insignificant enough not to deal with. I doubt he'll take extra care to possess me in particular."

"But you forget," Mew said. "He has Mewtwo now. What if he decides to use you against Mewtwo?"

"I doubt he'd know that Mewtwo and I are such close friends."

"Shouldn't we head to Lucario's now?" Link asked. "He wanted to see us after breakfast, right?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Raikou, Suicune, Entei, Deoxys, Darkrai, and the two Celebi were all there waiting in Lucario's office. They had all spent the night there. Lucario greeted us and stood in front of the crowded room.

"I wanted to thank all of you," he said to the legendary Pokémon. "I know this isn't your battle, and that the only reason you came here was to find Cara. I'm sure that your power will tip the odds in our favor."

He turned to Mew and addressed her directly. "And I wanted to thank you as well. I realized that I ask you to do a lot, and you always comply without objection." He smiled wryly. "Because of your teleportation and your strength during battles, things have turned out much better than they might have."

He turned next to Celebi and Garnet. "And thank you as well. With your help, Manectric finished the machine in time for our attack. And Mewthree never discovered where the machine was kept. And the rest of you helped keep the roads clear so travelers could be safe."

Once again he addressed all of us. "This afternoon, all of our allies from Treasure Town and the surrounding areas should be arriving. When everyone is here, we should tell them of your existence." He smirked. "We don't want them attacking you by mistake. Cara, I was hoping you would introduce them. You would also have to tell them of Mewtwo, so that they know that we need to rescue him."

"Me?" I exclaimed. "Why me?"

Lucario blinked. "Well, because they're here for you, and they are your friends."

"Do I need to prepare a speech or something?" I asked, smirking. No doubt the crowd of Pokémon would be huge. It had better be, if we were going to be taking on Mewthree and all of his possessed Pokémon. I never really spoke in front of large groups. I wondered if I would freeze up. "Are you sure you don't want to say it?"

He looked at me, confused. "Is it really a problem?"

I guess he didn't understand stage fright. "Well, I'll probably say something stupid."

"Why?"

"I mean I might make a mistake. I would be stupid on purpose. Never mind. I'll think of something to say."

Lucario nodded, still looking a bit confused at my apprehension. "Anyway," he continued, "All of Charm Town is preparing for tomorrow. Make sure you don't work yourself too hard. We need everyone fresh for tomorrow."

"I'm going to teach her how to fly," Mew explained.

Lucario cocked his head. "You don't know how?"

"I'm not a real Pokémon, so no."

"Well, okay. It will definitely be more helpful if you're in the air. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Mew, Celebi and Garnet teleported back to Manectric's cave so they could resume their guard duties.

"Hey," I asked Lucario. "Have you asked Latias to try sight-sharing with Latios?"

Lucario nodded. "Yes. Once she was feeling better, we asked her to link to Latios's mind. But he was unconscious. We'll try again shortly."

"I might be able to wake him up if you need help," I offered.

Lucario nodded. "I'll keep that in mind if he doesn't wake."

Mew returned and took up her Mudkip disguise. She, Link, and I left the office. The others stayed inside to keep a low profile until my speech.

The three of us headed to the field on the outskirts of town. But before we arrived, I stopped.

"Hey, Link?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you happen to have rubber boots or gloves? Or some rubber thing that you could use like boots?"

Link stared at me. "What? Why?"

"If you can find some, I'll explain in in the field. Do you think you can get ahold of something?"

Link looked doubtful. "Uhhhh, I don't have anything. I guess I could ask around. But is it really that important?"

"It will be really helpful, yeah."

He sighed. "Well, okay. I guess I could try to find something."

"Thanks! This will be awesome, I promise. We'll meet you out at the field, okay?"

Link headed off and Mew and I continued to the field.

"What was that about?" Mew asked.

"You'll see. But while he's gone, I'm going to see if I can contact Mewthree."

"Now? Did you just want to get Link out of the way, or something?"

"No, the boots really do have a purpose. But I didn't figure that he needed to watch me sit here."

"So I get to watch you sit instead?"

"You don't have to."

She laughed. "Well, I guess I'll get my wings warmed up."

She turned into a Charizard and soared up into the air, doing some warm-up maneuvers.

I sat down in the grass and closed my eyes.

I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself. And then I reached out.

It was a while before I felt the mind of Mewthree. I hesitated, and then spoke.

_Excuse me? _

The response was immediate and dramatic. He lashed out, obviously I was trying to launch a psychic attack, or something. A s if I could. I quickly withdrew and waited a few seconds before cautiously calling out again.

_Mewthree? _

_So, you're a psychic, are you? _

_Sort of. _

_I don't have any time for someone as foolish as you. _

_Why do you say foolish? _I asked.

_The only reason you would be trying to contact me is to try to convince me to do something. Such as releasing Mewtwo, or letting go the Pokémon that I control. And you're wasting my time if you think you can do that. _

He was actually speaking to me. Not trying to possess me, and not ignoring me completely. I paused to strengthen my nerve. _Actually, I thought I start out by asking you to talk to me. _

He snorted. _About what? _

_Uh, anything, I guess. _

This obviously threw him for a loop. _What? _

_I mean, is there anything you want to talk about? _

There was a long pause, during which I held my breath, wondering what the response would be.

Then he laughed.

_You must really be desperate. I have no reason to talk to you. And I have better things to do. Although I expect I'll bee seeing you soon. _

The connection was abruptly cut off.

I opened my eyes and sighed. I slowly got to my feet.

Mew landed beside me.

"How did it go? You're not possessed, right?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Still me."

"Well?"

"Well, I guess he figured I was trying to convince him to let Mewtwo go. He just laughed at me and, uh, hung up."

"Think you'll try again?"

"Yeah, in a bit. But let's try flying."

Mew smiled. "I bet you've been looking forward to this.

I grinned broadly. "You know, I really _have_ been. I've flown on the backs of Charizard many times. Now I get to fly _as _a Charizard. So, what do I do?"

"Since you're new, you should probably start with a running takeoff," Mew suggested. "When you're better, you can jump straight up into the air, but that's trickier.

She demonstrated for me, jogging across the field and flapping powerfully until she rose up into the air.

My heart pounding with excitement, I started to run too. But my foot got stuck in a Diglett burrow and I stumbled for several steps before I managed to regain my balance. Embarassed, I tried again.

The Charizard body was very awkward to run in. It didn't seem like I could gain enough speed to get off of the ground. After a few seconds, I realized that I was focusing on running with my short legs and completely forgetting to flap my wings.

So I stopped and gave several experimental beats of my wings. They were still achy from yesterday's battle, but the medicine had helped them a lot.

I tried several more times, running through the field and pumping my wings. But it was several minutes before I figured out how to use my wings.

And then, at long last, I felt my feet lift off of the ground.

"I've got it!" I shouted. "I'm up! UP!"

I skimmed low over the grass, flapping my wings and wobbling a bit to either side.

"Good" Mew called. "Great! Try landing."

I wanted m first flight to last longer, but I should probably master take-off and landing before I flew any higher.

I stuck my feet out, trying to slow myself with my wings.

It didn't work. My feet jammed down into the dirt, sending me head-over-heels into the grass.

I sat up, my head spinning.

"Phew," I gasped. "I'm guess that by tomorrow I probably won't be spinning any loops."

"Fire!"

"What?"

"Cara, your tail!"

I turned around to find that the flame on my tail had ignited the dry grass behind me.

"Gah!" I gasped, jumping to my feet. "Fire!"

I cast around wildly for something to use, but unsurprisingly saw nothing. Then I remembered that I had tough feet and tried to stomp on the flames. But they had already spread several feet.

"Fire!" I squawked.

I turned around and came face-to-face with a Blastoise. She leveled her cannons and sent out a gush of water, which drenched most of me along with the grass.

I spat out a mouthful of water and stepped out of the soggy area of the field.

"Can you warn me before you do that?" I asked Mew as she transformed back into a Charizard.

"I made sure not to hit your tail," she said.

I glared at her.

"Keep better tabs on your tail," she said. "Come on. I'll show you some landing tips."

"I wish you'd shown them to me before," I grumbled.

By the time Link got back, I was able to take off and land with decent regularity.

"Hey, did you find some boots?" I asked, flapping towards him and landing about ten feet away (If I tried to land any closer, I might have accidentally crushed him).

He nodded, holding out two tube-like rubber things.

"What are those?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure," Link admitted, looking at them askance. "But Kangaskhan sealed off one end so I could put my feet in them."

"Let's see then."

Mew came over and watched as Link slipped the rubber things onto his feet. They looked like very strange stiff socks.

"Can you walk in those?" Mew asked.

"Uh, sort of?" He took a couple waddling steps.

"Do they come off easy?"

"No."

"Well, anyway, here's my plan," I said. "Rubber blocks electricity, right? So here's what I thought. During the battle tomorrow, I'll be flying around and blasting things from the sky. Wouldn't it be great if you could be up there too, zapping things and watching my back? But here's the problem. If you tried to shock something, you'd hit me too. But if you have rubber boots, you can stand on my back and shock things, but the rubber will stop you from zapping me. Got it?"

Link and Mew stared at me.

"What?"

"That's awesome!" Link exclaimed. "I was wondering if we'd get separated during the battle. But now we can stick together!"

"Well, let's make sure it works, shall we?"

…

I did try to contact Mewthree again, but he didn't respond. I guess he really had decided that I wasn't worth his time.

But I didn't have much time to worry about that. Because I had to think of some kind of speech.

The Pokémon from Charm Town arrived in the later afternoon.

And after a big feast, everyone packed into Charm Town Square. There were so many of us that some of them overflowed into the surrounding streets. Link, Mew and I made our way to the fountain in the center of the square, where Lucario, Tyranitar, Wigglytuff, and Lopunny were standing.

I glanced around at the familiar faces – Arcanine, Weavile, Kecleon, Jolteon, Infernape, and so many others.

Finally Lucario stood up on the ledge of the fountain where the crowd could see him. The murmuring slowly subsided into silence.

"For the past few months," Lucario called out, "our country of Naratay has been plagued by a monster. A monster with the power to control Pokémon and take away their free will. Over the weeks, the number of Pokémon under his influence has increased. If he's not stopped, before long every Pokémon on Naratay will lose everything to this powerful invader. We're all here to make sure that that doesn't happen!"

A chorus of chirps, squawks, and rumbles came from the crowd as they hollered out in support.

Lucario waited for the sound to die down before continuing. "Our enemy is powerful. We don't know what the limits of Mewtwo's powers are. Nor do we know how many Pokémon he has under his command. But that doesn't mean that we are at a disadvantage! First of all, very few of Mewthree's soldiers are fighting of their own free will. If they are defeated and revived, they may very likely join with us. And none of them have something that they are fighting for! They are fighting because they are forced to fight. But we are fighting for our homes, our families, and our freedom!"

Another chorus of cries sounded from the audience.

This time it was Tyranitar who spoke. "Not only that, but we have several secret weapons at our disposal. A friend of ours has been working on a machine that will project its power through a dark-type Pokémon. More specifically, me. By using the power of this machine, I will be able to shut down some of Mewthree's abilities. With that edge, we may be able to overpower him and his forces. But although we have high hopes in this, it is not our only weapon. Not by far."

Tyranitar gestured to me, and I stepped up on the fountain ledge next to him. I noticed some confused faces. Most of the Pokémon knew Lucario and Tyranitar, but very few of them knew me.

I felt a fluttering sensation in my stomach and took a deep breath, although it did nothing to calm my nerves. Lucario was a very eloquent speaker. And Tyranitar wasn't bad himself. I knew my speaking abilities wouldn't compare to theirs.

I quickly glanced down at a couple words I'd scrawled on the palm of my hand to remind me what to say.

They didn't help that much.

Okay. Okay. Just start talking.

"I am not a Pokémon."

Okay, that wasn't how I'd intended to start out. Just keep going with it.

"I'm not a Pokémon, I repeated, not looking at any of the faces around me. "I'm a human. I was turned into a Pokémon, and became lost in your country." Just keep reminding myself. Talking to a crowd of Pokémon isn't as bad as talking to a crowd of people. Right?

"When that happened, several of my friends came to search for me. That was when we learned about the trouble Mewthree was causing. So, we volunteered to stay and help. Normally, a handful of Pokémon wouldn't make much difference. But these aren't any ordinary Pokémon. They're some of the strongest ones I know."

Mudkip-Mew climbed up next to me, and I lifted her so everyone could see. She hopped up onto my head. Everyone watched, not sure what to expect. I took the opportunity to try to regain the thread of my speech.

Then the Mudkip body began to glow and shift, until it was replaced by the floating form of Mew.

A murmur ran through the crowd.

"I'm not the only one," Mew called. If you look towards Lucario's office, you'll see the rest of us."

There was a shifting of bodies as everyone turned to look. Latias, Raikou, Suicune, Entei, Deoxys, and Darkrai had all silently taken their places at the edge of the crowd when the speech began.

"There are also two Celebi with us," I continued, trying to keep my voice steady. "And one other. The strongest Pokémon I've ever met. As far as I knew, second only to Arceus. Probably the only Pokémon on Naratay capable of standing against Mewthree. He is called Mewtwo."

His name brought out mixed reactions from the audience. Clearly a lot of them associated Mewtwo with Mewthree and didn't see him as a source of help.

I forced myself to keep talking. "But Mewthree kidnapped him! He's trapped right now, along with Latios." I opened my mouth, but no further words came out. I swallowed and cast around desperately as if someone would hold up a sign telling me what to say.

Lucario came to my rescue.

"One of the first things we must do is release Mewtwo and Latios. With the machine slowing Mewthree down, Mewtwo should be able to fight him as most of the rest of us deal with the rest of the Pokémon. And as for Latios, I fear that Mewthree may be after his spirit."

Tyranitar took up the speech. "The Soul Dew contains a great amount of power. Who knows what Mewthree may want to use it for? It may negate the effects of our machine. But Mewthree himself is part machine. It may somehow power him up. As of now, Latios is still alive. The sooner the two of them are freed, the better."

Lucario started talking again. "Tomorrow morning, we all head to Mount Labyrinth for this final battle. It will no doubt be the greatest difficulty in most of our lives. We have a large collection of supplies, so stock up with everything you need. Make sure all of you eat enough tonight and tomorrow morning. And get plenty of rest. If Arceus favors us, by this time tomorrow, the course of the country may have been changed in our favor. Thank you all. And good night."

I climbed down from the fountain, sighing. "I bet I sounded awful," I groaned to Link.

He shrugged. "You didn't sound too bad. I didn't know that you were going to tell everyone that you were a human though."

I smirked. "I didn't really mean to. It just came out" And indeed, I was getting many odd looks from the Pokémon as they dispersed. They were heading to the makeshift camps set up all over town.

"And I forgot what I was going to say at the end."

"Whatever mistakes you made weren't glaringly obvious," Mew said, floating down beside me. There was no need for her to be disguised anymore.

A Vespiquen stopped in front of me and gave me a good look up and down.

"Will you be staying behind tomorrow to help guard the younger Pokémon?" She asked.

"What?" I asked blankly.

"Well, you are not a Pokémon, correct? You would probably only get in the way during tomorrow's battle."

A few Pokémon paused to listen.

"Cara is great in a fight!" Link said defensively. "You should see some of the enemies we've taken down!"

"We _are_ in a Rescue Team," I said, annoyed at her obvious assumption that I was useless.

"And just because she's not a Pokémon doesn't mean that she isn't useful," Link continued. "Cara is a Pokémon trainer. A great one."

Vespiquen scoffed. "One of those things? This is what I mean. Those so-called Pokémon trainers just sit to the side, letting the Pokémon do all the work."

"Not so," Mew pitched in. "A trainer is an essential part of a battle. They see the battle from the outside. They get a view of the big picture and are able to analyze the different actions that can be taken. They must quickly think through all of the variables – the terrain, the opponents abilities and strategies, and their own Pokémon's strengths. This is what Cara knows how to do, in addition to fighting herself."

Vespiquen stared at us for a few more seconds before flying off. Several of the Pokémon that had been listening in looked impressed, or intrigued. Pokémon trainers obviously weren't understood very well around here.

"Come on," I said, gesturing to Link and Mew. "Let's get inside. It's weird having so many people stare at us."

As we walked through the crowd and passed by all sides and colors of Pokémon, I sang softly:

"One more day before the storm.

At the barricades of freedom.

When our ranks begin to form,

Will you take your place with me?"

Mew and Link glanced at me. I gave a small smile, trying not to think of the revolution of the movie I sang from. Because in that revolution, only about two people didn't die.

I skipped to a different verse.

"One day to a new beginning

Raise the flag of freedom high.

There's a new world for the winning

Do you hear the people sing?"


	31. Freeing the Prisoners

Jeez, I really hope that "new Mewtwo form" is fake. It looks so stupid…

Freeing the Prisoners

"Whatever happens," I said, my voice quavering, "try to stick together."

Mew and Link nodded. Around us, a couple hundred Pokémon were gathered, overflowing from the Charm Town square into the surrounding streets. Link, Mew and I were among the group of Pokémon near the central fountain.

The way we planned it, all of our teleporting allies – Kadabra, Gardvoir, Xatu, Mew, and many others – could teleport about fifty Pokémon at a time. So we had to divide into about five different groups, with the strongest Pokémon going first. We were in the first group, as were all of my friends from home, Lucario, Tyranitar, Latios, Manectric, and Weavile.

It was our job to hit hard and fast. Tyranitar would immediately start operating the machine to weaken Mewthree. He was wearing it already, like some strange robotic suit of armor. The machine wrapped around his back and reached over his head, helmet-like.

In addition to slowing Mewthree down, our other priority was to free Mewtwo and Latios. Then we had to heal Mewtwo enough that he could fight Mewthree as the rest of us took on the possessed Pokémon.

I still had no idea how to break Mewthree's bubble. Hopefully with Mewthree distracted by our appearance, the strength of his bubble would decrease and we could break it. The machine was supposed to help weaken the bubbles as well.

But what if we still couldn't break the bubbles?

I swallowed. There was enough to think about without worrying about all of the "what ifs."

Lucario called out, "all right! We leave in one minute! Anyone not part of the first group, please back away! And remember, once we're gone, the second group should gather as quickly as possible. The teleporters will return as soon as they are able."

Those of us near the fountain huddled together, and the ten or so teleporting Pokémon gathered around us, ready for the signal.

"We're not sure what to expect," Lucario called. "But we need engage Mewthree immediately and keep him occupied. If he's able to gather his senses, who knows what he'll be capable of? Once Mewtwo is freed, he is our best chance for defeating Mewthree. If you notice he needs help, share some of your healing items with him. If you knock out any possessed Pokémon, they may join our side when they wake again, so keep that in mind. Are we ready?"

The teleporters all nodded, looking nervous. Actually, most everyone looked nervous. I definitely felt like there was a hollow pit in my stomach. I couldn't recall ever going up against a foe that I feared so much. But at the same time, I also pitied him. Wasn't there anything we could do to help him?

"All right. Good luck, everyone. Let's go!"

At the signal, the teleporting Pokemon raised their arms. There was a brief pause, and then Charm Town vanished.

We were standing high atop the slopes of Mt Labyrinth, on a large, open plateau. To one side of the platform, a mountain peak reached into the sky. But to the other side, the plateau ended in a jagged cliff, which dropped down for at least a couple hundred feet to end in a forest of sharp rocks. Beyond that, Scyther Spire was visible.

After a couple seconds, all of the teleporters departed, returning to Charm Town. Only Mew remained.

There was one big problem though.

No one else was there. Not Mewthree, nor any possessed Pokémon.

Panic started to rise in me. And in everyone else too, judging by the shuffling footsteps and anxious muttering.

Were we in the wrong place? Where were the enemy? Had Mewthree fled, taking Mewtwo with him?

_Break the cliff… _

The thought rang out in my head. It belonged to a voice that I'd heard before, and it made a shiver roll up my spine.

He was going to break the cliff side and send all of us spiraling into the rocks below. I quickly jerked my head around, looking for the source of the telepathic voice.

"It's there!" I shouted, pointing at a rocky area against the peak of the mountain.

As I called out, the rock shifted and began to rise up as an enormous Onix reared its head. It let out a low, threatening rumble.

The Pokémon around me muttered in confusion. Why was there only an Onix?

But Tyranitar immediately stepped forward and opened his mouth. A searing Hyper Beam shot out, heading straight for the Onix. But this was no ordinary Hyper Beam. Red and black static rippled across it, courtesy of the machine's powers.

The Onix didn't have time to dodge and the Hyper Beam hit it full-on.

The Onix threw back his head and let out a bellow, more of anger than pain. The red-black static flickered around its body, and the Onix doubled over.

Then it began to change, shrinking down until it was no larger than me.

Mewthree. He'd been in disguise, transforming like Mew so often did. But the power of the machine had destroyed his transformation. It would keep him locked in this form as long as it was active.

As the static faded, Mewthree raised his head, a cold ferocity spreading across his face. A black fire began to flicker over his body. The same kind of fire that surrounded Mewtwo just before he was about to launch an attack.

"Look out!" I shouted, grabbing Link and launching into the sky.

Most of our allies reacted immediately to my shout. Those capable of flight took to the air and those near the edges of the crowd dashed to either side.

A blazing black beam of energy burst from Mewthree and shot straight at the heart of our crowd. There were still a couple dozen Pokémon standing right in the line of fire. Not all of them had reacted, or had no room to flee.

Deoxys, Phantom, and Tyranitar gathered and combined their power, creating a wedge-shaped shield that deflected Mewthree's attack. The blazing black fire went ricocheting away, finally flickering out.

Immediately, all of the Pokémon scattered. Many of them shot distance attacks towards Mewthree, but they bounced harmlessly off of the shield that he conjured. Was it just me, or did his shield seem to flicker a bit? Like a candle hit by a faint breeze? Hopefully the machine really was weakening his shields.

Several Pokémon shot straight for Mewthree. Tyraniter, Phantom, and Weavile were among them.

A Staraptor soared past me, almost colliding with my wing. I cursed and lowered myself to the ground, setting Link down again. Mew came to hover beside me.

Across the plateau, the second wave of our allies arrived. But they were just as confused as we were. It was only Mewthree. Where was his army?

"Cara," Link said, sounding alarmed.

"What?"

"The ground!"

Link wasn't the only one to have noticed that something. Several of the Pokémon around us were stepping back and forth, looking down at the mountain beneath them.

From somewhere, Lucario's voice called out. I couldn't make out the words, but our allies repeated his warning in alarmed voices.

"It's beneath us! The enemy is beneath us! Tunnels!"

Then I felt the ground shift beneath my feet.

"Get on!" I shouted, dropping to all fours. Link quickly sprang onto my shoulders and I leapt into the air, followed by Mew.

Just as my feet lifted up, the ground collapsed, revealing a pit that I could have easily fallen into.

A Graveler charged up out of the pit, lifting a small boulder to throw at me. I swerved, gaining altitude and trying to avoid the other startled Pokémon that were dodging around in the air. A Pidgeotto crashed into my leg and nearly fell out of the air.

As I beat my wings frantically, I saw pits open up all round the plateau - at least a couple dozen of them. Several of our allies toppled downwards into the traps, into the waiting fangs of our foes. And then the enemy began to climb up out of the tunnels.

Many of our allies were so stunned by this unexpected turn of events that the enemy had plenty chance to attack.

And then from the edge of the plateau that dropped over the side of the cliff, a swarm of winged Pokémon flapped into view. For a moment, the two groups of flying Pokémon faced each other. And then the enemy launched forwards, swarming the Pokémon nearest them.

I swooped down to torch a Bastiodon that was trying to trample an Electabuzz.

A Fearow came at me, ready to impale me with it's spear-like beak. But with a zap of electricity, Link knocked it out of the air.

"Cara!" Mew shouted, knocking a Staravia to the side, "We have to find Mewtwo! The others can't hold Mewthree back for long!"

"How am I supposed to fin him?" I shouted back "How can I focus with all of this going on?"

"We'll cover you!" Link shouted, zapping a Pelipper.

I swallowed and tried to clear my mind. It was almost impossible, with all of the bellowing and crashing going on in every direction. Not to mention seeing friend and enemy fall, both above and below.

I closed my eyes, trusting my friends. It helped only a little bit, but I still had to concentrate on staying aloft.

_Mewtwo! Mewtwo, where are you? _

There was no response. Either he was unconscious, or I just couldn't focus enough to hear him.

"Look out!"

Without thinking, I dropped out of the sky, landing heavily on the back of a Salamance that was gliding beneath me. She snarled fiercely and twisted her head back, trying to snap at me. I quickly pulled my wing out of the way and clung to her back. But she wasn't strong enough to hold me aloft, and we stared to tumble towards the ground.

"Cara!" Link shouted as the mountain rushed towards us.

I pumped my wings down, taking my own weight again. Taking advantage of the enemy's surprise, I grabbed her wings and twisted her weight around, flinging her to the ground. She slammed heavily to the earth and raised her head, letting out a low keening sound.

Except that as I threw her, My body had twisted oddly in the air. I no longer had any control of my flight. I was falling right out of the sky. Link squealed and held onto my neck as I spun out of control.

Then something grabbed my back feet and started hauling me higher. I craned my neck around to see that a Dragonite had hold of me. I opened my mouth, ready to flame, until I realized that the Dragonite was Mew.

"How the hell are you supposed to tell the difference between friend and foe," I snarled as I hung, undignified, by my feet as Mew lifted me higher.

"Get ready to catch yourself," Mew called.

"I'm ready!"

Mew let go and I managed to pull up and resume flight. Above me, Link zapped several foes that I couldn't even see.

_C-cara…_

The voice was feeble and distant-sounding, but I latched onto it immediately.

"He's over there!" I shouted, pointing to the mountain peak beside us.

I tucked my wings and sped towards it, slashing at any foes that got too close, and shooting flames at the ground-going enemies.

Something struck me in the side, almost knocking me out of the air. I managed to regain my balance and continued on, dodging as much as I could of the fighting. I had no idea where Mewthree or any of our friends were. But we couldn't worry about that. We had to find Mewtwo.

As we reached the peak, I banked out and circled around it. Behind the mountain, there were no enemies and the sounds of the battle were oddly muffled. But then less than a minute later, we rounded the other side of the peak and were once again in the thick of things.

"There!" Link called, pointing to the area where the Onix-Mewthree had first appeared.

There was a cave.

I swooped down, landing rather heavily in front of the cave. Mew joined us, in her normal form once again.

"Hey," Mew shouted to a nearby Golem. "We need you to guard the cave entrance for us. Can you do that?"

The Golem nodded, looking bewildered. I didn't wait any longer, but charged into the cave. Link jumped to the ground and the three of us proceeded.

Something glinted at the back of the wide tunnel. Two large, black spheres were suspended in the air against the back wall. And inside them were Mewtwo and Latios, both unconscious, hanging eerily in the center of their prisons.

"How do we break the bubbles?" Link asked.

I hesitated. "For the bubbles that Mew and Mewtwo make, Dark attacks would usually do the trick, since psychic powers are useless against them. But for this… I'm not sure. I don't think that Mewthree is just a psychic type. He might be another type too."

"Steel," Mew suggested.

I nodded. "Yeah. Because of the machinery on his back. Which means that this bubble might be psychic and…" I held up my tail and the black surface glittered oddly. "Yeah, look. There's little flecks of metal held together by the psychic stuff. It probably makes the barrier that much stronger."

"How on earth did you figure that out?" Link asked. "We only saw one of these bubbles once for a few seconds."

I grimaced. "Well, I attacked that thing, biting and clawing it, remember? It felt kind of rough, when I thought back on it. No at all like the completely smooth bubbles that Mewtwo makes, or the squishy pink ones that Mew uses. And when we went to the clinic after Mewtwo was kidnapped, I found little shards of metal stuck in my fingers and around my teeth."

"That sounds painful," Link said, wincing in sympathy.

"Well, if it helps us break this, then it might have been worth it," I sighed, although it really had been a pain. "So, we have psychic and steel, right? So how do we combat that?"

"Dark and fire," Mew suggested.

I nodded. "Yeah. I have fire. And Mew, you can use dark moves?"

"Right. I'll use Dark Pulse."

"Link, you might as well zap it too. The more we hit it with, the better. Hopefully it will be weak enough already that we can finish it off. Ready? NOW!"

The three of us let loose. I spouted out a jet of flame, letting it engulf Mewtwo's bubble. The three of us held for as long as we could, but then my flame broke off and I gasped for breath, falling to my knees. Mew and Link stopped a moment later.

The bubble was still there.

"Does it look like it's close to breaking?" Link panted.

"It's a bit dimmer. Maybe," Mew said hopefully.

The three of us turned as we heard a commotion near the cave entrance.

Golem was trying to hold back a Mamoswine. He had it by the tusks, but was slowly being pushed further back towards the cave entrance. Mew started forward to help him, but Golem gathered his strength and tossed Mamoswine to the side. Then, before he had a chance to think of the consequences, Golem sprang into the air, ready to come down with the force of Earthquake.

"_No, you fool_!" Mew shouted.

Too late. Golem came crashing back to earth, and the mountain shook. Outside, several areas of the plateau collapsed, where the ground had been weakened by the tunnels.

The tunnel wobbled and the roof began to crack. Gravel and dust rained down on top of us and I threw myself towards the bubbles, wondering if they could shield us at all. I stumbled and reached forwards, my claws grating against the surface of Mewtwo's bubble. For half a moment, I thought I felt my claws break the surface.

Then with a deafening, thundering crash, the roof of the cave cieling came down on top of us. Sprawled on the cave floor with Link clinging to me, I waited to feel the rocks strike my back and crush us. I covered my head and closed my eyes.

All around, I heard slabs of stone and showers of dirt rain down, but nothing hit me.

Then the sound stopped and everything was still. I tasted dirt. Then I slowly opened my eyes.

The air was murky with dust. Link was huddled under my wing, coated in a light layer of dirt, as was I. Mew was a few feet away, curled tightly in a small protective bubble. Link blinked up at me, just as amazed as I was to still be in one piece.

Then I looked up. And there he was, standing over us, his arms raised and a blue umbrella-like shield arched over us.

Mewtwo was free.


	32. Battle of Titans

Whoo, finally! I get all worked up and excited writing bit battle scenes like this. ^-^ I hope you all enjoy!

The chapter after this is going to be the last chapter in this fanfic. And then we're on to Unova!

Battle of Titans

Mewtwo's knees buckled and he collapsed to all fours. Fortunately his shield remained in place, holding off the loose rock above.

"Are you okay?" I gasped, staggering to my feet. Link did the same and Mew wobbled over to join us.

"I'm fi-" But he broke off and sat down, his head drooping. "Actually, no. I'm not fine. I… can barely stand. And I'm having trouble focusing… on anything."

"P-please keep the shield up," Link said, tentatively.

Mewtwo nodded. "I will."

"We were sort of hoping that you'd fight Mewthree," Mew said. "I know that's the last thing you feel like doing now."

I reached into my bag and pulled out several Sitrus berries. "We brought these for you. And any other healing stuff you might need. I hope it's enough. I wish we had time to let you recover, but there's a few hundred Pokémon outside right now, fighting Mewthree's army. Phantom, Deoxys, and some others are trying to hold Mewthree off, but we're not sure how long they can last."

Mewtwo nodded and took the berries, eating them one-by-one.

Link pulled a bottle of medicine out of his bag and handed it to Mewtwo, who drained it in one gulp. He paused and turned to where Latios was still imprisoned. He sent out a pulse of energy, making the bubble prison dissolve.

Link went over to Latios and gave him a couple Sitrus berries.

I hesitated. "I tried to contact Mewthree. He didn't care about talking to me though."

Mewtwo looked at me. He gave a small nod. "I'm glad you tried, at least. There may be another opportunity to try… but I'm starting to think that he's beyond reason."

He looked troubled. Mewthree echoed Mewtwo in a great many ways. And this bothered Mewtwo greatly.

I placed a clawed hand on his arm. "I'll try again. Anything I can do to bring him around. I don't know… if I'd be able to get something like that across. But I'll try."

Mewtwo got falteringly to his feet.

"Do you think you're ready?" Mew asked.

"As ready as I'll be," Mewtwo said. "I know I'm not at the top of my game, but from what I've heard, we have no time to spare."

"So, how do we get out of here?" Link asked.

Mewtwo glanced around. "I think down. I sense tunnels beneath us. That would be easier than trying to clear out all of this rubble. And less conspicuous."

Latios glided over to us, wincing in pain.

"Stay close," Mewtwo said.

I felt the familiar sensation of his psychic powers as he lifted us off of the ground. He raised an arm and shut his eyes in concentration.

The ground beneath us crumbled away, revealing a black pit beneath. Mewtwo slowly lowered us down into it. I held up my tail to help light the way. We curved around and then up through one of the pits Mewthree's army had used to reach the plateau.

And then we were out in the open once more.

I scanned the plateau and shuddered. Countless motionless forms of Pokémon dotted the area around us.

And still the fight raged on. A Lairon and Tauros thundered past us, nearly colliding with Latios.

I tried to find some of our friends in the clatter and roar of the battle all around us. I caught a glimpse of Entei for a moment, but it was impossible to get a good sense of anything that was going on.

"You're alive!" We turned to see the Golem. The one who had accidentally collapsed the tunnel. He looked panicked and relieved at the sme time. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize…"

"It's fine," Mew said. "No one was hurt."

"Where's Mewthree?" Mewtwo asked.

All of us glanced around.

"There's Latias!" Latios exclaimed. He took off to join his sister.

"There he is!" Link exclaimed a moment later, pointing across the battlefield.

"You two go on," I urged them. "We'll be okay."

Mew and Mewtwo looked at us. Mewtwo nodded and sped away. Mew hesitated before following him.

"You sure we'll be okay?" Link asked, smiling wryly.

"Well, we can't hold them back," I said. "They have a much more important job than babysitting us."

"True. Bad guys approaching at four o-clock."

I knelt so Link could jump up onto my back. I took off in time to avoid the charging Metang.

Flame the Venomoth

Dodge Yanmega.

I lost all sense of everything. It was a blinding, deafening whirl of Pokémon and sound all around me. I shot out fire and struck with my claws and tail. Above me, Link zapped anything behind or above me. On more than one occasion, I stopped just before attacking an ally.

Glalie is attacking Jolteon! Help her!

At some point, Garnet, the red Celebi, appeared and fought alongside us.

Fire scorched my hind leg and something raked against my back. My wings ached from keeping me aloft so long, and they were constantly bumped and battered by passing Pokémon. My throat was sore from sending out so much flame.

Charge the Gliscor.

Something struck me hard from behind. I heard a terrified call and noticed with a jolt that Link had been knocked off of my back. I dove and managed to catch him. I tried to pull up, but didn't react fast enough.

I jammed my feet down into the ground with so much force that I went tumbling head-over heels. Link and I landed in a heap on the ground.

I didn't want to move. Every inch of me hurt. My arm was bleeding from something – I didn't even know what anymore. But I slowly pushed myself to a sitting position. I realized with a jolt of alarm that we had stopped a couple of feet away from the edge of the plateau. Scyther Spire stabbed up from the valley below us.

I swallowed and started to edge away from the cliff.

"Cara!" Link shouted.

I glanced up to see something black diving straight at us.

For some reason I didn't move. Or I just couldn't move. I just watched as Honchkrow closed in.

My lack of movement seemed to catch Honchkrow completely off guard. He obviously expected me to dodge of fight back. He fanned his wings to slow himself, but too late. He crashed into me and the two of us went tumbling out-of-control over the side of the cliff.

"Caraaa!"

I closed my fist around Honchkrow's foot, preventing him from getting free. I grit my teeth as the sky flashed over my feet, and the cliff spun in and out of view. Honchkrow pecked at my arms and neck. Then I tucked my wings and I twisted by body around. With all of my strength, I used the force of the fall and the twisting of my body to hurl Honchkrow into the side of the cliff.

He hit with a sickening thud. Then fell, limp, his wings fluttering behind him like a torn rag. I opened my wings, pulling out of my fall and slowly began to circle upwards.

I reached into my bag and grabbed a Sitrus berry. It helped some, at least, and I managed to land on the edge of the plateau where Link was battling a Marshtomp.

I sent Marshtomp flying and collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Cara, are you okay?" Link exclaimed, running to my side.

"Pretty much. I'm playing dead for a minute to get my breath back. I suggest you do the same. There's so many unconscious Pokémon around that I doubt they'll notice us."

Link glanced around uncertainly, and then rolled onto his back. He gasped for breath, obviously as exhausted as I was.

And then they came, moving as two blurs. Mewtwo and Mewthree feinted and dodged, blasting attacks at each other, moving so fast that they crashed into nearby flying Pokémon and sent them tumbling away.

Mewtwo was dripping sweat, his breath coming in short gasps as he tried to keep pace with his opponent.

But Mewthree looked… almost fine. A bit winded, maybe, but nothing more. How could that be? After all the Pokémon that had been fighting him?

"He's healing himself," I growled coldly.

Link glanced at me, alarmed. "You mean it's all for nothing? No matter how much damage we do, he'll keep healing himself?"

I called out telepathically. _Celebi, Garnet. Have you fought Mewthree at all? Has he been healing himself? _

_Yes, _Celebi replied_. A little while ago, we used Heal Block on him. So now he shouldn't be able to recover anymore. _

So, now damage was building up very slowly. His defense and HP must be very high.

I unintentionally sat up as I watched the battle. Mewtwo shot a jet of blue psychic flame at Mewthree, who countered with a similar burst of black fire. Mewtwo deflected the flame to the side, and in that moment, his middle was left wide open. Mewthree took immediate advantage and shot a sparking black orb at Mewtwo. It struck him in the stomach and sent him whirling backwards. He arced through the air, off of the plateau and over the cliff. I watched in horror as he slammed into the base of Scyther Spire.

The great blade of rock rocked dangerously, tilted backwards, and then began to fall, as if in slow motion.

My mouth opened wide in a roar. I got to my feet. From the corner of my eye, I saw Methree start to go after Mewtwo. But something black shot past us and collided with Mewthree. Phantom had rejoined the fight.

Scyther Spire hit the ground with a crash that resounded throughout all of Mount Labyrinth. The once impressive formation shattered into rubble.

I leapt off of the cliff and snapped my wings open, jolting painfully in the air.

Link had returned to his spot on my back. The two of us soared away from the battle, towards the remnants of the Spire. Only a small, blunt spike of rock remained. I landed next to it, squinting through the thick cloud of dust.

"Mewtwo!" I shouted. "Mewtwooo!"

"H-here."

I ran towards the voice and saw a purple shape sprawled among the fallen rocks.

I dropped to his side. "Are you okay?"

Wincing, Mewtwo pushed himself to his hands and knees, and then into a sitting position.

Link handed me a Sitrus berry, which I passed on to Mewtwo.

"All things considering, I could be a lot worse. I put my shield up right before I hit. So, bruised and battered, yes. I can still fight though." He ate the berry. "But this is getting us nowhere," He continued with a sigh. "There will often be a few of us at a time attacking him. But we need all of our strongest allies to attack at once." He looked at me, determined. "You need to contact everyone. You can do that with your telepathy. Tell everyone the plan. If we all hit at the same time, I think we can knock him out."

I nodded. "Okay. I'll see how many Pokémon I can get ahold of. We have to hurry though. Phantom was holding Mewthree off."

I reached out to all of the legendary Pokémon from home. It was hard to get their attention since some of them were in the middle of fighting. But finally I managed to explain the plan. Then I contacted some of the stronger allies from Naratay – Lucario, Tyranitar, Jolteon, Weavile, and Wigglytuff. I couldn't get in touch with Manectric, Raikou, or Drapion. They must have been unconscious. I asked the others to spread the word to whoever they could.

"Okay, they're getting ready, Mewtwo. Go and get into position. I'll get up there and help with the distraction."

Mewtwo shot upwards and disappeared over the plateau. I took to the air and followed.

"Ready?" I asked Link.

"Ready as I'll ever be. I hope it works."

"Me too. I don't think I've ever organized an attack with so many Pokémon before. Watch my back. I'm gonna see if I can contact a few others while I'm flying. We don't want any of our friends to get in the way." I shuddered. "Oh, Arceus, I don't know if I'll be able to keep Mewthree distracted long enough."

"I'm here to help. We'll figure it out," Link promised.

I desperately reached out with my mind, giving a hurried explanation to whoever I reached, telling them to stay back, and join in the attack if they were able.

And then we were back in the fight. But this time it was easier to move around. There were fewer Pokémon left that were able to battle. How long would this fight last if our plan failed? If we defeated Mewthree, would all of the possessed Pokémon wake up immediately?

_Phantom, is he in position? _I called as we drew near.

_Almost,_ Phantom gasped.

"Link, you can get off if you want."

"No! I wouldn't abandon you!"

I smiled. "Thanks. I trust you with my back, right?"

"Right."

Then Phantom exclaimed, _Yes! Now! _

I dashed forward, knocking aside a Dustox that was in the way.

Mewthree was facing away from me, focused on Pantom. Like Mewtwo, Phantom looked exhausted and close to collapse.

I took a deep breath, and then threw myself at Mewthree, grabbing him around the neck. Mewthree twisted to throw me off, but I hung on. He dug his claws into my forearm, but still I refused to let go.

Black sparks rippled over Mewthree's body, and I knew he was about to force me off with his powers. But Phantom shot a blast of dark power, which hit Mewthree square in the stomach.

Mewthree doubled over and I used the opportunity to throw him to the ground. He landed on his feet and I quickly landed in front of him.

"Let me help you," I shouted at Mewthree.

"You again," Mewthree spat. "Why do you keep trying to talk to me? Nothing about you interests me."

"Really? You think so? I'm not so sure." It was Link speaking this time. "Otherwise you wouldn't be talking to her. You'd be fighting her."

Mewthree scoffed. "You're certainly full of yourselves, aren't you?" He knew I was wasting time, and he decided to let me, because he wanted a rest too.

"I swear, I want to be able to help you," I pleaded. "Please, stop the fighting. I know what's happened to you. What humans did to you. But not everyone is like that! You can be happy!"

"The only thing that would make me happy," he spat, "is to have control. To control everyone, like those people controlled me."

"So no one can ever hurt you again, right?" Link asked. "You don't need to do it that way!"

I continued. "Power never gave anyone what they really wanted. There are other ways to be happy. If you find people that can care about you, you can get over the pain! It worked for Mewtwo. It can work for you too!"

Mewthree laughed. "You mean _you_? You want to be my friend? You think that will magically fix everything? I don't think so!"

"Please, I don't want to hurt you. You're so much like a friend of mine. I want to…"

"As if you could hurt me," Mewthree laughed, cutting me off. "I've had enough of this talk. And I'm sick of you!"

Before I could react, a pulse of Mewthree's energy hit us, flinging Link and I backwards. I managed to twist myself so I landed on my side and didn't crush Link. I felt the strap of my bag tear, and it landed on the ground beside me. I lifted my head to see Mewthree readying an attack. An attack I knew I would not be able to dodge, or endure.

But just as Mewthree was about to fire his black energy sphere, he glanced to the side, looking confused. He realized that something was off. Almost all of the Pokémon had pulled away from us, leaving a buffer of almost 40 feet around Mewthree. Phantom had disappeared long ago.

He was going to notice!

"Cara," Link said, pointing.

I followed his gaze to where my bag was laying. The tip of the boomerang was sticking out. I reached for it as Mewthree's eyes turned downwards to one of the nearby pits.

And I threw the boomerang.

It did not arc outwards or make its way back to me. No, it spun straight through the air and slammed directly into Mewthree's face.

He reeled backwards and clutched at his face.

_NOW! _ I screamed telepathically.

Mewthree's head snapped up and his eyes locked on me. "You!" He snarled. He took a step towards us.

"I'm sorry," I said, bowing my head.

Phantom arose from the shadows directly in front of Mewthree. Mewthree paused, startled.

Then, from every direction, our allies sprang out of the tunnels and pits. Others dashed in, abandoning the rest of the battle.

I opened my mouth and let out a torrent of flame, which Link's Thunder joined half a moment later.

Then, at the same time from every direction, Mewtwo, Mew, Phantom, Suicune, Celebi, Latios, Latias, Tyranitar, Jolteon, and all of the others unleashed their attacks.

Elements blended with psychic and dark and engulfed Mewthree in a raging inferno of insanity.

I poured out every last flame left in me, until my attack fizzed out and left me coughing. One by one, the rest of the attacks faded as well. And when the last one died, we were able to see the place where Mewthree had been standing.

The ground had been pulverized and part of it had collapsed into the tunnels beneath.

Mewthree was laying belly-down on the sunken ground, his skin scorched-looking and steam rising from the gears on his back.

I let out a gasp of relief. All around me, Pokémon exchanged glances, some of them looking relieved, or even grinning.

Some of the possessed Pokémon glanced around, confused. Their eyes looked clear and normal once more.

Was it really over? Was that it?

I looked down at Link who beamed. "Hey, we did it!"

"We should make sure first," Latias said, as she and her brother glided up beside me.

"And we need to figure out what to do with him," Latios added, a growl in his voice.

"You did a good job of stalling him," Latias complimented. "I'm amazed he listened to that."

"I meant it," I said. "Every word. I really did want to help him."

Latios and Latias looked at me oddly.

Phantom moved forwards tentatively. He peered down at the pile of rubble that Mewthree was lying on. I stepped a bit closer to get a better look.

Mewthree twitched.

Phantom jolted backwards in alarm. But the black wave caught him in the chest and sent him flying backwards, towards me. I caught him and staggered backwards.

The Pokémon around us screamed and backed away as Mewthree got to his feet, standing hunched, a look of pure venomous hatred on his face.

"I," he huffed, "I will not be defeated! Even if I have to take all of you with me!"

He raised his arms in the air and sent out a shock wave that struck everyone. I tumbled backwards several feet, dropping Phantom along the way.

When I got my bearings and looked up, I saw Mewthree, his arms still raised. There was something between his hands. Something small, that was growing larger. Another psychic sphere? No, it wasn't round. It was shaped more like a little whirlpool.

Within a few seconds, it was the size of Link. Black, purple, and blue swirled around, thick and cold looking, like strange, thick ink. I'd seen something like that before. When I got sucked into the between-dimensions with Palkia.

"He's ripping the dimensions!" Deoxys shouted, gliding up behind us. "We have to stop him! If that thing keeps growing, it will tear this entire planet apart!"

"What?" I shouted. Could he do that? He was supposed to be able to transform into anything. Could he even have some of Palkia's powers?

The vortex was now three feet wide. I could feel it pulling, trying to swallow anything that was near. The dust and rock at Mewthree's feet was already getting pulled upwards into it.

"How do we stop him?" Link shouted over the gusting, howling wind of the tear in space.

Latios and Latias appeared at our side again. "You say that will destroy the planet?" Latios demanded.

Deoxys nodded solemnly.

Latios and Latias looked at each other and nodded.

"I think the two of us can stop it," Latias said.

"If we work together," Latios added.

They took each other's hand.

The rip in dimensions had expanded, and was now as wide as Mewthree was tall. I could feel my limp, exhausted wings being tugged towards it. But if I was sucked into this dimension, I knew it would more than just my memories that I lost.

Around us, Pokémon were screaming and retreating.

Mewtwo shot a sphere at Mewthree, but it was sucked into the vortex and Mewthree remained untouched.

"I love you, brother," Latias said, bumping her head against his.

"You too, little sis."

"Wait, what are you doing?" I exclaimed.

Latias looked back at us. "Give everyone our regards."

Energy flared up around Latios and Latias. Still holding hands, the two of them shot forwards.

Link and I screamed for them to stop.

But they didn't.

The two of them plunged into the partially-formed rift and released an explosion of power.

The vortex contracted and pulsed and I saw it come apart slightly at the seams.

Mewthree let out a heart-tearing scream, and for a moment, his body seemed to distort. Then within two heartbeats, he was sucked upwards, into the vortex.

Once more the rift pulsed. Then it began to unravel, with the inky blacks and purples flung away from the core.

Then it burst apart with such force that I was thrown backwards again, landing in a heap with Deoxys, Darkrai, Link, and an Ariados.

And then it faded.

Dust hung thick in the air, I coughed, as did the Pokémon around me.

I staggered to my feet and limped towards the place where Mewthree had been.

I reached the small crater, but nothing was there. Not Latios or Latios. Not Mewthree or the vortex. They were all gone.

As the dust settled, I noticed two glimmering objects resting on the ground. I knelt and picked them up before backing away towards my friends again. I looked down to see that in one hand I held a blue sphere, and in the other a red one.

The Soul Dew and Spirit Mist. Spirits of Latios and Latias.

I heard a few anguished sobs from Pokémon who had seen Latios and Latias go down.

But then I heard another scream. I jumped before realizing that it was a scream if victory. A couple more Pokémon took it on, shouting in triumph. And slowly it spread until Pokémon of every size and color were roaring, squawking, and chirping out in joy.

It was over. Mewthree was gone.


	33. Leaving Worlds Behind

Wow, at the end at last! Thanks everyone for reading along with me. It won't be long now until Cara heads off to Unova. I hope you'll join me for that journey!

* * *

><p>Leaving Worlds Behind<p>

* * *

><p>In the few days that followed, every Pokémon, whether recovering or walking through Charm Town, was smiling and moved with a bounce in their step. The atmosphere of joy, relief, and triumph, was intoxicating. It was impossible not to share the thrill of our victory.<p>

It was also impossible to forget the battle/ My mind would wander back to the mountains, to the scenes following Mewthree's defeat.

Pokémon, both allies, and those Pokémon freed from Mewthree's power, hugged, shook hands, and high-fived each other. I found myself hugging Link, Phantom, Arcanine, Mew, Tyranitar, and dozens of other Pokémon that I don't even remember anymore. I found Mewtwo, who was looking fairly uncomfortable, surrounded as he was by a crowd of admirers. I managed to rescue him just before he passed out from fatigue. And who could blame him?

I checked my bag repeatedly, making sure the spirits of Latios and Latias were safe. And my eyes flicked repeatedly back to the place where Mewthree, Latios, and Latias had disappeared.

We had won. And I couldn't be happier… except…

There was nothing I could do about Mewthree anymore. It was too late. Maybe if he hadn't been so dangerous, and we'd had more time we could have helped him.

Still… couldn't I have done something else? I had to keep reminding myself in the following days that we did all we could. Three Pokémon had died, but Naratay was safe. And I was able to explain to several of the Pokémon why Mewthree had turned out the way he did. It wasn't his fault that he turned out the way he did. It was those that created him that drove him down the path to his destruction. And so the hatred of him subsided ever so slightly.

But deeper down there was another worry. Everything was over now. Which meant that all of us would be going home soon. And I was so ready to go home. I missed everyone so much. But what about Link? Would he hold up okay? I had so many friends here now. I would miss them all. I would miss all of Charm Town. The way Pokémon lived together, ran shops, cooked food, and went on rescue missions. It was so different from anything on my world.

"Cara, tell us more about the battle," Pontya suggested. Ponyta, Butterfree, and Masquerain had stayed behind in Charm Town during the battle. Those who had stayed in town were eager to hear every detail of the battle. Although this particular trio had asked us more times than was really necessary.

"What do you want to know about?" Link asked. He was more agreeable to repeating stories than I was.

I flexed my wings as he talked. It had been three days since the fight and most of the Pokémon were recovering nicely. My wings killed me the first couple days, from being so over-used during the battle. They felt better now though. And my other cuts and burns were healing nicely.

Link had a large bandage over his head from a nasty scrape he got there, as well as any number of smaller bumps and bruises.

Almost every Pokémon had several bandages, including all of my friends. The bug Pokémon had been kept busy spinning new bandages constantly. Every Pokémon that was able helped to care for the injured.

Link was explaining once more about the cave collapsing. I nudged him. He looked up and I pointed over towards Lucario and Lopunny. Lucario had hurt his leg very badly. He was trying to walk now, but had to lean heavily on Lopunny.

Link and I grinned at each other.

"Are they engaged, or something?" Ponyta asked.

"They should be," Butterfree giggled.

I noticed Tyranitar gesturing to us and I tugged Link's tail. "We're being summoned," I said. "See you guys."

Butterfree, Masquerain, and Ponyta went off somewhere, hopefully to make themselves useful. Link and I went to see Tyranitar.

Tyranitar had taken to wearing the gauntlets from Manectric's machine. They were one of the few parts that had survived, along with the helmet. The power source for the machine – the Spirit Mist, the soul of Latios and Latias's mother - had been salvaged too. The two Spirit Mists and the Soul Dew now rested together in a safe corner of Lucario's office.

"What's up?" Link asked.

"Mewtwo wanted to get up. I thought you should come."

I nodded. Mewtwo was in far worse shape than most of the Pokémon in Charm Town. Not that that was surprising, considering what he'd been through. He was kept inside the clinic along with a few others, where there was less noise and activity. Though the Pokémon still found ways to include them in the celebrations.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as Link and I walked into the room where Mewtwo was sitting.

Mewtwo smiled wryly. "Not much different than the other two times you asked me today."

I laughed.

"Chansey said I should wait for you before I tried to walk," Mewtwo explained. "Since you're big enough to support me, I guess? But I really should be getting up. Now that all of the others are on the mend, we should be heading home soon."

"Already?" Link blurted. He continued a little quieter. "But it's only been three days. Don't you want to wait until everyone's completely healed?"

Mewtwo looked at Link, and then looked up at me. I dropped my gaze to the floor. I wanted to go home so much. But Charm Town was such a great place. As much as I wanted to leave, I wanted to stay.

"Well," Mewtwo continued, "It's not exactly my decision. I contacted Palkia earlier today, and he's going to come pick us up. He's already spent a lot of time helping us look for you, Cara. We don't really have any right to ask him to wait around for us longer. He has other duties to attend to."

"Oh," Link and I said in unison.

"We agreed that he'd come and get us tomorrow morning," Mewtwo continued. "Trust me, I'd like to wait a little longer as well. I'm still not feeling my best."

"I believe it," I agreed. "I wonder if I'll get a chance to go flying again. My wings are still bothering me though."

"That's right," Link muttered. "You won't have your wings anymore when you return to the human world."

I nodded. "I can still fly with my Pokémon. But there's something different about flying with your own two wings, you know?"

"So I suppose you should spend today settling everything you need to." He smiled and continued, "by the way, I telepathically contacted Avalon after I talked to Palkia. Twilight knows we're coming home. He says he's going to have a welcoming party ready for us."

I laughed. "That will be fun. It will be good to see him. I know he was terrified when I disappeared the way I did."

"He rather was," Mewtwo agreed. "But now everyone knows that you're okay and we're all on our way home."

I held out my arm. "Here. I'll help you stand."

…

Link accompanied me the rest of the day as I visited all of our friends and bid them farewell. Lucario, Lopunny, Tyranitar, Jolteon, Infernape, Manectric, Weavile and her team, Arcanine and her other tenants.

Butterfree and Masquerain fairly burst into tears when I told them. Ponyta cocked her head. "But why? This place is so much better."

Everyone else was thrilled for me, that I had my memories back and was finally able to return to my world and my friends. Most of them agreed to accompany us the next morning, to bid us farewell.

Lopunny organized a small celebration at dinner, for all of us that came from my world.

It was a lot of fun.

But still. Throughout all of my journeys, I'd made a lot of friends and exchanged a lot of phone numbers. I was still, more or less, in contact with all the people I got to know in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. But these guys… I'd never see them again after tomorrow. And there wouldn't really be any way to contact them. It was such a strange, lonely feeling. I knew that they wouldn't forget us. But honestly, most of them probably wouldn't really miss me deeply. Except for one of them.

Link seemed happy. He was smiling during the entire celebration. He'd also made a lot of friends since I'd arrived. Maybe he could join Jolteon's team? They were the only other Rescue Team we got to know.

The night dropped down on us like the curtain at the end of a play. Where had that last day gone?

As everyone went off to bed, Link and I went out to the field for one last flight.

…

The next morning, Link and I woke up and accompanied the legendary Pokémon to the outskirts of Charm Town – the big field where we'd done some of our training.

Weavile, Drapion, and Mightyena were walking in front of us, and they froze when they saw the massive form standing near the edge of the field.

Palkia. He must have arrived some time during the night.

My friends from home gathered near him. Unsurprisingly, some of the Charm Town Pokémon were nervous at Palkia's presences. But Jolteon and Infernape greeted him and they spoke like old acquaintances. I heard Palkia growling about how angry he was at the dimensional rift Mewthree tried to create. Too bad he hadn't made it in time to join the battle.

Mewtwo leaned on Phantom and Deoxys. He was wearing his cloak once more, but Phantom was wearing Mewtwo's hat (and looking incredibly goofy). Raikou, Suicune, and Entei stood behind them. Mew and the two Celebi perched on each of their necks.

I stopped and stood there, looking out over everyone. "It's hard to believe," I said quietly. Link looked up at me. "I've gone on so many journeys. As I traveled, I was away from home for months. But going home this time feels different. I guess because I left in such a bad way. I left everyone behind, and they were all worried about me."

Link grinned. "Well, it's all over now."

I laughed. "I wonder if they'll ever believe that I turned into a Pokémon. I'll definitely have some great stories to tell them!"

"Definitely," Link agreed. He really looked happy that I was finally on my way home.

_Mewtwo?_ I called silently.

_Hmm? _

_Can't we take Link with us? _

Pause. _We have no right to take him out of the world he was born in. _

_I guess you're right. _

_I'm sure he'll be fine. _

_Yeah. He's tough. _

I went around to all of my friends, bidding them a final farewell.

"Tyranitar, thanks for training us. We never would have gotten very far without your help."

"Thanks for giving me a place to stay, Arcanine. Your cooking was always amazing. The best thing after coming home from a day's battling."

"Jolteon, I'm glad I got to meet you. Since we shared similar fates, talking to you helped keep my spirits up."

"Lopunny, you talked sense into me as I was losing hope. Thank you so much."

"It was my pleasure," Lopunny said, resting a paw on Lucario's shoulder.

"Lucario, thanks for trusting me, even when I was the most suspicious person in all of Charm Town. You're a great leader for this place. Everyone in Charm Town is lucky to have someone so strong and together to look after them. Take care of them for me. And take care of the Soul Dew and Spirit Mist."

"Will do," Lucario said, nodding. "Everyone is safe with us. And thank all of you again for lending your support. I don't know how things would have turned out if you all weren't here. You especially, Mewtwo."

Mewtwo nodded and smiled.

And then I finally knelt in front of Link. "Link, thank you for everything. If it weren't for you… I would have been lost in every way possible. You picked me up and gave me a place to stay and a friend to rely on." I tapped my aviator's cap that I still wore. "And with this, I know I'll never forget."

Link nodded and rubbed a paw across his eyes. I did the same.

"And thanks, Cara," he said, his voice shaking as his resolve cracked. "Not just for helping protect our world. But thanks for being my friend too. Because you came here, I was able to open up and meet so many new Pokémon. I know I'm better for it. By a lot."

He dropped his head and took a deep breath.

I stood up. "Thanks, Link." I turned towards everyone from Charm Town and waved to them, grinning. "Thanks everyone! Take care!"

Everyone called out farewells and thanks as I backed towards Mewtwo, Palkia, and the rest or my friends from home.

"BYYYyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" I continued to wave my arm over my head, beaming.

I felt Mewtwo's psychic powers surround me. They lifted me off of the ground, along with Suicune, Raikou, Entei, and the others.

Link looked up again, smiling despite the tears in his eyes.

"We're ready," Mewtwo called to Palkia.

Palkia threw back his head and let out a deafening bellow. The air above us rippled, and then opened up, revealing a portal of black and fuchsia sky above us. Palkia rose up through the portal and Mewtwo prepared to lift all of us through as well.

I looked out over the Pokémon one last time as I felt myself start to rise.

"Cara!" I looked down to see Link sprinting up towards us. He gathered himself and then leapt towards me. I reached out automatically, catching him.

And then Charm Town was gone and we were surrounded by the strange swirling sky of another dimension.

And I was still hugging Link.

"Link," Mew scolded softly, shaking her head. But she was grinning.

I laughed.

Mewtwo glanced over at us and gave a wry smile, shaking his head.

"I don't know what got into me," Link said, giving a nervous laugh. "Guess I really want to see another world. Even if you have a ton of other Pokémon you love and look after, I still want to come."

"And I'm sure you'll love it," I promised. "And now I get to introduce you to all of my other friends!"

Then I noticed that Palkia wasn't the onlny giant accompanying us. A giant blue Pokémon glided alongside us - Dialga. He'd come to see us off as well.

We spiraled up through the strange endless dimension. And then I caught sight of something floating in the distance. Something large and white, watching us.

I gasped. Arceus.

Palkia noticed where I was looking. "When Mewthree opened the dimensional rift, the three of us felt it." He gestured to Dialga and Arceus. "Arceus and Dialga came to make sure that everything was resolved properly. We're almost back to your world."

The air in front of us parted again, and I saw green. Grass.

"Thank you, Palkia," I called. Even as I spoke, I felt a strange prickling sensation all over my body. My head, neck, shoulders and legs felt oddly melty, and they seemed to be changing.

Palkia laughed, and this time I heard him telepathically since my ears were no longer that of a Pokémon. _Try not to get sucked through any more of my portals, right? _

"I'll try! And it was nice meeting you, Dialga."

Dialga looked at me and nodded.

"Tell Arceus I say hello and thank you."

Mewtwo glided up beside me and handed me his cloak. His eyes were fixed somewhere beyond my shoulder.

That was when I realized that the only thing I was wearing was my aviator's cap. Burning red, I snatched the cloak and pushed Link up onto my shoulder. I quickly wrapped the cloak over myself. Embarrassed as I was, at least I'd gotten the cloak on before we were back in the human world.

Mew laughed and I shot her a withering glance.

Mewtwo lowered all of us through the portal and I felt my bare feet touch the grass of Avalon.

With a rush of air, the portal above us closed and Palkia and Dialga disappeared.

And in front of us were Pokémon. Dozens of them. I stared out over them, amazed. Mewtwo, Ponyta, Gyarados, Ninetales, Absol, Typhlosion, Pikachu, Charizard, Swampert, Luxray, Lucario, and so many others.

And in front of all of them was Ben and Hari.

Link stared at everyone, his mouth hanging open.

Ben started to come towards me and I took a step towards him on legs that suddenly felt too long. My foot caught on Mewtwo's cloak and I pitched forwards. Since my arms were stuck beneath the fabric, I had no way to catch myself. I crashed into Ben and the two of us landed in the grass. Link sat up, bewildered, and huddled against my side as everyone closed in.

Hari bounded up beside us, grinning broadly. Twilight threw his arms around my neck. Polaris nudged my shoulder. The huge head of a Gyarados loomed up behind Hari. I turned every which way, petting and hugging every Pokémon I could reach.

After all the trials and triumphs of an adventure, returning home is the sweetest part of victory.


End file.
